


Our Comfortable Place

by Mythicalseries



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Friends to something else, rhink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2017-04-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 09:51:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8839978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mythicalseries/pseuds/Mythicalseries
Summary: Rhett and Link stand on the precipice of something they don't quite understand but they know their friendship is on the line. Their relationship could take new heights or it could crumble before them.





	1. Chapter 1

Making Buddy System had not been easy, but they already knew it wouldn't be. Starting a new project always required a lot of hard work. What they had failed to anticipate, however, was the tension this new endeavour would create between them.  
If they weren't arguing about a song, they would argue about a line on the script, or whether they thought a joke was good enough, or the wardrobe, or any of the other million details that this new project involved. And if they ran out of things to argue about, they always had six more songs to go back to.  
Rhett liked to think about it as creative arguing, not real arguments but merely a part of their creative process. _Unavoidable and necessary_ , he used to tell himself over and over again. He wasn't worried, because he and Link were fine. _We're Rhett and Link, of course we're fine. We're always fine the two of us... right?_ That's what he would think every time an angry Link walked out of their office; every time Rhett himself had to go outside for air after an argument had got way too heated; every time there was only silence in their office because neither of them dared to speak first.

Even so, shooting came around and it was like magic. They were okay, better than okay; they were having the time of their lives. After just two days of shooting, they were both surprised to find that once everything had been sorted out, that there were no arguments to be had anymore. They could actually enjoy themselves, they were having fun and they were both buzzing with excitement to finally see their 'baby' come to life.  
Just like that, among laughs and smiles, the thirty days of shooting came and went in what seemed the blink of an eye, and despite having loved the whole experience, Link was relieved it was finally over. He needed a break, and he knew Rhett did too.  
Now they would have two weeks to take their feet off the accelerator and get some long awaited rest. Both he and Rhett were going back to North Carolina to meet up with their families, who had left a few days earlier. This, of course, meant spending time apart and generally holding to Rhett's stupid rule - to which he had, in all fairness, agreed to - of not talking to each other over the break. Even though Link had always hated that little agreement of theirs, he would have normally kept his end of the arrangement without complaining because it meant that he would have more things to tell Rhett about when he saw him again.  
This time, however, it was different. He and Rhett had been talking about nothing but work for the past three months, not to mention that they had spent more than half of that time arguing.

Now that shooting was over, the wrap up party was the last thing on the list before their break started the following day. Much to Link's disdain, that also meant it was the last few hours he and Rhett would have together for the next two weeks.

"Hey man, finally! I was staring to think I'd have to give a speech all by myself", Rhett greeted him walking over to him as soon as Link walked in.

The sight of the now beardless man was still weird but as familiar to Link as it ever was.  
"Yeah, sorry. I wanted to have everything ready for tomorrow but I haven't even finished packing yet", Link said while he smiled and waved at some members of the crew across the room.

"What time does your flight leave?"

"6:30. I won't get much sleep tonight, but I'll sleep on the plane", Link said with a shrug.

"Mine leaves at 10:00. Why didn't we buy tickets on the same plane again? I hate flying alone", Rhett complained.

The thought of Rhett angrily fidgeting with his seat on the plane next to a stranger made Link let out a small laugh. "I know, but...", Link paused debating himself on whether to speak his mind or not. He figured in the end, it was a conversation they needed to have. "I think we were too mad to even talk to each other when we bought them", he said giving Rhett a sad smile.

Rhett only gaped at him, not knowing how to respond. After a couple of seconds, he shook his head as if to get his mind back to reality and at least managed to get out a few words. "Oh... right. We never... I mean...".

"Hey guys!", Chase interrupted, completely unaware of the different tension in the air. "Everyone's here already and we have everything set up if you want to give your speech." He waited a few seconds while Rhett looked back between him and Link, still trying to process what was going on.

When Link realized Rhett seemed too dumbfounded to reply, he took a deep sigh and smiled sadly at Chase. "Sure, we'll do it now."

"I mean it can wait if you want...", Chase said apologetically, now realizing that he might have just interrupted something important.

"No, it's fine. We're ready, thanks Chase." As he went off to get everything ready, Link turned to look at Rhett who was staring at the ground and grabbed him gently by the arm. This made the tall man snap his head back to look at Link in the eyes, only to be met with the kindest but saddest look in return. "C'mon, it's show time," he said to Rhett encouragingly.

 

The speech turned out great. They knew how to perfectly put on a mask for people, so they did just that. They pretended there had been no awkward moment between them as they addressed their guests, and nobody seemed to notice either. After drawing a few laughs and a final applause from their crowd, they wrapped up their speech, which meant their duties for the night were over.

Rhett wasn't exactly sure how he had ended up being pulled away from Link's side only seconds after they stopped talking, but it was one or two hours later that he lifted his head from the conversation he was having and realised Link was on the opposite side of the room talking to just their friend Nick and his wife, Karen.

Link looked great in that dotted black shirt and its short sleeves showed that he had been working out. Maybe the slight change was imperceptible to everyone else, but not to Rhett. The funny thing was that you could have changed Link's shirt and Rhett would have seen no difference, but if you moved a tiny scar on Link's arm just an inch to the left, he would have known. Without hesitation.

He soon realized he had been staring at Link, when he saw Nick whisper something in his friend's ear only to then point at Rhett across the room. He blushed and looked away quickly, but when he turned back a minute later to look in the direction of his friends, he found Link was standing alone, smiling back at him. Rhett couldn't help but smile back and lifted the beer in his hand as a wordless hello.  
Just when Rhett had made up his mind to walk over to him, Link mirrored the tall man's gesture with his own now empty bottle of beer and dropped his blue gaze to the floor. Rhett watched as Link turned away and out of his sight, and before he knew it, he was trying to follow.

He looked everywhere but couldn't find a trace of Link anywhere. He was starting to get worried when he felt his phone buzz in his back pocket.  
'Left early. Have a bit of a headache and lots of packing left to do. Said goodbye to Stevie but I couldn't find Nick and Karen again so tell them I said bye', Link's message read.

Rhett sighed looking down at his phone, disappointed he and Link wouldn't finish their conversation from earlier but at the same time, understanding Link's reasons to leave. _Didn't it occur to you to say goodbye to anyone else, though? Not even me?_ Rhett's thoughts were interrupted when he saw a new message pop up on the screen.

'Have a nice break, send my love to Jessie and the boys and good luck flying solo. Enjoy the rest of the night and have fun!'

_Well, something is something at least..._

'But not too much...'

It made him chuckle. _Without you? Never_. 'See you in two weeks, brother', Rhett decided to text back.


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks flew by and it was time for Link to get back to work. The break was over but he had made good use of that down time. It had done him well to get away from the stress of everyday life and yes, maybe even away from Rhett too.  
Lately he felt that every interaction with his best friend was similar to a game of chess. Normally he and Rhett would play as a team. Rhett and Link vs the rest of the world, and they had always had more victories than losses. Now however, it felt like they were playing each other, as every word and gesture had to be carefully thought out given that any wrong move would inevitably lead him to losing the game. Losing meant arguments, awkwardness and silence between the two of them, but winning still meant that Rhett would have to lose, which left them with the same outcome anyway.  
He had thought about this long and hard during his break, and came to the conclusion that not playing was their only way out. Rhett would make his move and he would have to resist the urge to retaliate, but he had to. He wouldn't lose Rhett, he just couldn't.

"Morning, buddy!", said Rhett with a wide smile as he walked into their office with a coffee cup on his left hand.

"Hey, man!", Link said. He stood up from his desk as Rhett took the last steps towards him and gave him a side hug. "How was your break?"

"Good, you know, same as ever but I really needed it this time. Yours? Did anything exciting?", Rhett asked letting go of his friend to put his things on his desk and then lean on it.

Link shrugged. "Not really, unless you count fishing as exciting."

"Yeah, me neither. After all that craziness, I just wanted to relax a little."

Before either of them could say another word, there was a knock on the door even though it was open. Both men turned towards the sound, only to find Stevie already coming into the office.  
"Hey, Rhett! Had a good break?", she said with a smile before giving him a quick hug.

"Hey, yeah, it was great. Back with full batteries. Any problems while we were gone?"

"Nah, don't worry. I got you covered."

"You always do, thanks Stevie", Link said giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Any time. But, now that you're back...", she trailed off as if she didn't know where to begin. She opened her mouth and after a couple of seconds it seemed she had settled for asking: "have you seen this week's schedule? I emailed it to both of you this morning."

"Ugh, no, not yet. Why?".

"Is it too bad?", Rhett asked even if both he and Link already knew the answer to that.

"Let's just say you'll be happy you had a good break", Stevie said with an apologetic smile and then turned around to get back to work.

As soon as she left, they turned to look at each other and laughed a little when they found the same resignation each of them was feeling in the other man's eyes. Rhett sat down at his desk, put down his coffee and turned on his laptop while Link waited behind him. When the email with the schedule came on screen, Link lowered himself to put his head next to Rhett's to get a better look. _Jesus_ , Link thought.  
"Oh god...", Rhett complained while he scrolled down. "Why do I already feel like we need another break?" He felt Link's head drop on his shoulder causing him to sigh heavily. _Let's take one. Just you and me. Please, I need my best friend back_ , Link thought but decided against saying any of it out loud. Rhett started reading what he considered the highlights of the list out loud while Link kept his head on his shoulder without looking at the screen.  
After a few seconds of silence, Link stood upright and gave Rhett an encouraging grip on the shoulder before turning back to his own desk. "We can do this, c'mon", he seemed to say to Rhett but it was really mostly for himself.

 

The week went on spending most of their focus on GMM. Link was almost relieved because of it, since during the months of endless arguing, filming GMM provided the only moments of truce between Rhett and him. They never explicitly agreed it to be like that, but Link figured that, after ten seasons, making their daily show was such an oiled up process that they rarely disagreed on anything.  
They had managed to film ten episodes of the new season before their break but now that they were to resume filming, a small but very important detail was different: Rhett's beard. Or lack there of. After more than two weeks of growing it back, his friend already had what he could only call a baby beard and it looked fine to Link. Fairly enough, Rhett always looked fine to him, so he was a biased judge.

Nevertheless, Rhett insisted on having a fake beard made until his real one had grown out enough and he had just finished putting it on when Link walked into their dressing room.  
"So? What do you think?", Rhett asked looking at Link through the mirror.

"I... I...pffff!", was all Link managed to get out before he burst out laughing. "I can't take you seriously with that thing on!"

"Okay ha ha, laugh all you want but I think it looks quite good."

"You can't possibly be serious. It's obviously fake! Even a blind person could see that!"

"That's not the point, man! I thought we agreed that we didn't want everyone to see my face without the beard until the show comes out!", Rhett said clearly annoyed at Link's blatancy .

Link could see the frustration in the reflection of his best friend's eyes. That day's episode was supposed to be about dumb wars but he figured that a war between them over a fake beard would definitely be at the top of the list. _He’s right, that's what we agreed on. Don't fight back. Don't play the game._ "You're right, I'm sorry."

It seemed to throw Rhett off that he had admitted that, so he said nothing in return. He just stood there looking intensely at Link's reflection as the shorter man approached him slowly, stopping next to his right side but never breaking eye contact with Rhett's eyes on the mirror.  
He took a sharp breath when he saw Link's right hand coming up to the side of his face, and let it out slowly when he felt the other man gently stroking his beard.

"At least it feels real. I can still tell the difference though", Link said with a smile.

"Really?", Rhett laughed even though he was genuinely curious.

"Yeah, really."

Link lowered his hand and placed it on Rhett's shoulder instead, never looking away from the green eyes on the mirror. He smiled warmly at the picture before him, just as Rhett did the same.  
They had been standing like that for what seemed an eternity and a second at the same time, when they were startled by a knock on the door. Link quickly pulled his hand away just before they saw Stevie's head pop in at the door.

"Hey, guys. We're ready for you."

"We'll be right there." Rhett said moving away from Link and towards the mirror to straighten his shirt. He looked at the fake beard again, and turned to Link when Stevie closed the door again. "C'mon, it's not that bad."

Link huffed out a laugh. "Fine, it'll do." As he started walking towards the door, he looked over his shoulder at Rhett and smiled shyly. "I guess I prefer the real you, beard or not."

Rhett stood there as he watched his friend open the door and head towards the studio. When his brain caught up with him, he smiled to himself and moved his shoulder ever so slightly, still feeling his nerves tingling where Link had touched him. He turned to give himself one final look in the mirror and then followed Link out the door.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Rhett had had a tough week. If going back to work wasn't enough, he had had to become a nurse for his entire family at home.

On the last few days of their break, Shep had fallen with a horrible cold after playing under the rain with a couple of friends only to then come inside to sit under the air conditioning. Both Jess and Rhett had told him to get a change of clothes and get dry first, but he was stubborn like that. Jess had insisted he’d gotten that from Rhett.  
By the time they got back to California, Jess and Locke had caught it as well, leaving Rhett to take care of everything and everybody.

It was Monday morning, and they’d just been working for half an hour when Link started protesting about his neck.

“Jeez, it hurts like the devil, man. I must have slept wrong, or maybe I got it from mountain biking with Nick on Saturday. I don't know,” Link said grunting as he rolled his head in circles.

“Huh,” was all Rhett managed to reply, still looking at his computer screen. He was still bitter about being left out from that part of Link’s life.

Five minutes later, Link grunted again. He sighed, exasperated, and rolled his chair backwards towards Rhett.

“Hey, can you do me a favor? Can you massage right there?”, Link said pointing towards a spot between his neck and his right shoulder.

“Uh…” Rhett hesitated for a moment, but then turned to close his laptop. “Yeah, sure”, he said positioning Link’s chair so that he could have a good angle.

"How are Jess and the boys doing? Still sick?", Link asked to avoid an awkward silence.

"Jess still is a bit but the boys are much better. Shep's almost as good as new and Locke is still coughing a little but he's back in diving practice so I guess he'll live too."

"Awesome, so no more nurse Rhett to the rescue then?"

Rhett shrugged. "Well, Jess is still taking it easy so I'm still helping out with everything"

Link snorted. "That's being a good husband, not a nurse."

"Does massaging your neck count as nursing then?"

"No, this's different."

"Oh is this being a good husband too?", Rhett teased him.

Link laughed, rolling his eyes and threw his hand back trying to hit Rhett’s stomach, but barely missing him as Rhett rolled back his chair just in time.

"Idiot”, Link said shaking his head when Rhett threw his head back laughing. _Well, we are kind of married…_ , he thought.  
Rhett rolled back his chair towards him and started massaging his neck again.

"A good husband would have given me a good massage though, and I'm not sure that's the word I'd use", Link teased.

He suddenly felt Rhett’s hands on his neck stop. _Well done, Link. He thinks you’re just being mean._  
Just as he was about to turn around to explain that it was a joke, he felt one of Rhett’s fingers trace a line slowly down his neck, making him shiver.  
Link could practically hear Rhett smirking behind him at the reaction he’d gotten out of him.

Rhett lowered his head right next to Link’s ear, his hands never leaving his neck. He inhaled sharply, closing his eyes as soon as he felt Rhett’s hot breath on his skin.

"I think the goosebumps on your neck disagree with you, buddyroll", Rhett said almost in a whisper.

Link smiled, letting out the air he’d been holding and suddenly feeling a rush of heat through his body. His cheeks felt on fire so he was sure he was blushing and with Rhett so close to his face, he was sure his friend could see it too.

He opened his eyes slowly and turned towards Rhett, their noses only a hair apart. " 'Good' is still not the word I'd use", Link said. _Other words come to mind right now..._

The vibration of Link’s phone on his desk made them both jump.

He sighed, while Rhett cleared his throat rolling back his chair towards his desk. Link mirrored the movement a second later without daring to look at Rhett, and went to check on his phone. It was a message from Christy.

Link sighed again still staring at the screen, now feeling guilty for what just happened. Or almost happened. _Of course. This is God’s way of punishing me for even thinking to…_

"Is it a bit better at least? Your neck?", Rhett said interrupting his trail of thought.

Link snapped his head towards the taller man, who now had his chair facing towards him and looked genuinely curious. It made him smile. _Why do you always have to care so much? You make it so difficult, Rhett._

"Yeah, I was just teasing you, it’s much better. Thanks, man."

"Any time."

And so they went back to work.

 

The crew could tell something was going on.  
Link was talking to Casey when he looked up to see Rhett staring at him from across the room. Rhett looked away embarassed and returned to his conversation with Alex.  
They had spent all morning like that, avoiding each other but each of them stealing glances of the other when he wasn't looking. If they had been paying attention to anything other than each other, they would have noticed that everybody was staring at them.

It wasn't a filming day, but they still had a lot on their schedule. A few important calls, checking on a couple ideas for future episodes, and a meeting with someone from Amazon who wanted to sponsor them in exchange for promoting their new product, the Amazon Echo.

The meeting with the people from Amazon was scheduled for one o’clock, so they ended up having lunch later than usual. They sat together on the couch in their office as they ate.

“We should settle on a few ideas by next week to send them for approval. Do you think they'll take too long with that?”

“Nah, I don't think so. Not long enough to mess up our schedule anyway,” Rhett said in between bites.

“I'm just saying better safe than sorry, man.”

Rhett sighed and lifted an eyebrow. “Okay but you know it’ll mean cramming up more things onto the schedule. You think Mr Anxiety can handle that?”, he teased him.

Link furrowed his brow but smiled, elbowing Rhett on the side. “Shut up. Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Okay then. If you think so, then I trust you.”

“Thank you”, Link said bowing his head.

 _But enough about work. I want to talk to my best friend, not my business partner_.

He finished his last bite of the crew’s leftover pizza and then cleared his throat. "So are you up for doing something this weekend?"

"Ugh I can't, man. My in laws are flying in from North Carolina to visit. You know, 'cause we spent the break with my folks. That's why I'm talking Friday off, remember?"

"Oh right, yeah, you told me", Link said smiling sadly, not quite looking at Rhett. _Why am I getting upset? It’s not his fault._

Rhett pressed his lips together and gave Link a quick pat on the back. "Sorry, brother. Did you have something in mind?"

"Not really, no. I just...” He shook his head, closing the now empty box of pizza on the coffee table and stood up from the couch. “Nothing, forget about it."

Rhett watched him curiously as he walked towards his desk to grab the empty mug he had used that morning.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, forget I said anything." _I’m telling you, God is punishing me_. He stopped at the door and turned towards Rhett without meeting his eyes. "Coffee?"

 


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of the day went by uneventfully, even though Link had been quieter than usual. Having so much to do, they ended up staying in the office until around six, with Stevie being the last one to leave before them. It was only when she came to say goodbye that they decided to call it a day.

Link gathered his things in no time, while Rhett decided to finish one last email before turning off his laptop. Although they had driven to work separately, they always walked together to the parking lot so Link stood up from his desk and leaned on their office door while he waited for Rhett to grab his things.

"I was thinking, how about Thursday?" Link said out of the blue.

"What about Thursday?"

"Since you're gonna be busy all weekend, we could go watch a movie or something." When Rhett didn't reply, he tried again. "It doesn't have to be a movie, we can do whatever you want. I'm up for anything, really."

He scratched his neck but avoided Link’s eyes. "Uh no, it's not that. I'd love to but... Jess' parents are getting here on Thursday night and I said I'd pick them up from the airport."

Link stayed silent for a couple of seconds, making Rhett look up to meet his eyes sheepishly. When he did, he found Link was staring at him clenching his jaw. “Fine then”, Link said a second later, turning his face away.

 _That doesn't mean fine_ , Rhett thought when he saw his friend’s reaction.

"Link?", he said taking a couple of steps towards him. "Hey, man, I'm sorry, I -"

"I know. I said it's fine."

Link’s interruption caused Rhett to stop in his tracks. "Is it really though?", he asked tilting his head slightly.

Link sighed and looked at Rhett again. "Well, it is to you apparently. Everything's just perfect, Rhett." He adjusted the backpack on his shoulder and turned to walk away. "I really have to go. See you tomorrow."

Rhett stood there confused, replaying what had just happened in his mind until he heard the parking lot door close behind Link. He finished up gathering his things and headed towards his car, now the last one on the lot. _Now that's a sad picture_ , he thought. He knew it was probably stupid but couldn't help the feeling.  
He tried to shake the thought away, got into his car and drove home.

 

* * *

 

"Thank you for doing this, honey," Jess said while she watched her husband fill up a pot with water and then put it on the stove. "God, my head is killing me."

"Of course", Rhett said softly as he walked over to where she was sitting on the other side of the kitchen isle. He pressed his lips to her forehead and kept them there for a second before pulling away. "No fever but you still need to rest, okay? Why don't you at least go lie on the couch until dinner's ready?"

"Are you sure?", she said. Rhett lifted an eyebrow and nodded, pointing towards the living room. She threw her hands in the air in defeat as she stood up slowly. "Okay, okay, I'm going, I'm going."

He watched her, smiling to himself as she walked away. Once out of sight, Rhett tuned to the pot on the stove and figured he’d poured in too much water but it was too late now. In no time, it was boiling, so he put the pasta in and leaned on the counter while he waited.

As he watched out the kitchen window, he lost himself in thought, even if every thought was about Link. Looking back through the day, he could say they had had their highs and lows, and their very lows. He then remembered the look on Link’s face before he had walked away, and he realized it scared him. Not the look itself, but not being able to understand the meaning behind it scared the hell out of him.  
Rhett had always been convinced that he knew Link like the back of his hand. His body language, every tone in his voice and every look. He always understood every bit of it without Link having to say a word, but not this time. Had it been anger, sadness, fear? He didn't know, but above all else, he regretted letting Link walk away like that.  
_I don't think everything’s fine, Link. I should have said something, I should have-_

"Rhett, the stove!"

He was quickly snapped back to reality as he turned to look at his wife and then followed her gaze back to the overflowing pot of boiling water on the stove.

"Oh shit! No no no no...", Rhett said jumping to turn it off. The water immediately settled, leaving a only small mess behind. "Ah! There, see? Catastrophe avoided. Sort of."

"Well, at least you know it’s done", Jess laughed as she walked over to lean over the isle.

Rhett didn't say anything and kept his back towards her. He only took the pot of pasta and poured it through a strainer, before putting it in a bowl with the sauce he had made earlier.

Jess staring at him curiously. “Babe?” Rhett hummed in response. "What's wrong, honey?"

"What?"

"You've been distracted lately. So, are you gonna tell me what it is that's bothering you?"

"Nothing's wrong, really."

"Mhmm. Does it have to with the kids? Or me? 'Cause if you're worried about this little cold we all caught then-"

"It's not that, Jess. It's all fine, trust me." _You’re horrible at lying to her._

"Is it about work? Too much stress?", she tried.

"We just took a break", Rhett laughed while he cleaned up the little mess around the stove.

"Well, you never know, maybe you need another one already. God knows I do." She wasn't giving up just yet. "Link then?"

 _She got you_.  
Rhett threw the towel on the counter in exasperation and turned around. "You know... who even said there was anything wrong in the first place?!"

"Ah. Link it is then." Rhett sighed, but Jess pressed on. "So are you guys fighting?"

"No, we're not fighting. Well, not exactly. Ugh, I don't even... can you just drop it, please? You're gonna give me a headache," he pleaded rubbing his eyes.

"No, I can't drop it and something tells me you already have one. So just tell me. Let me help." Jess' words were kind but firm as she walked around the isle to get closer to him.

"You can't. I think… I think we have to work this one out ourselves.”

“Care to expand a bit at least?”, she asked caressing his arm.

 _She won't let this go, just tell her_. He sighed in defeat. “Fine, if you HAVE to know... there's just been something off about us lately."

"Off? Well, I already knew that", she joked. Rhett gave her a stern look, making her laugh as she hugged him from behind. "Sorry, go on. You were saying, off? Off how?"

"I don't know. Just off. Sometimes I think it's bad and I worry, but other times..." He paused to think of a proper word to describe it. "It's just different."

"Bad different?"

"No, definitely not bad", Rhett said without missing a beat.

"Good different then?"

"Yeah, maybe... I don't know, I think so. But then why am I still scared?"

When he turned around to look at her, Jess could see the fear in his eyes.  
"Oh honey, you'll figure this out." She stood on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, before she stepped back and gave him a knowing smile. "It's only a matter of time. Even if it's taken you long enough already.”

_What’s that supposed to mean?_

Before he could ask her, she had already grabbed the bowl of pasta from the counter and started walking towards the table, leaving Rhett standing alone in the kitchen even more confused than before.

“Boys, dinner's ready!”

 


	5. Chapter 5

Link spent the rest of the night awfully quiet, but Christy decided not to comment on it. She already knew that only Rhett could cause such a reaction in him, and even if she asked, he would only shrug it off, as that's what he had been doing for the past three months.

At dinner, he listened to the kids ramble about a game or two, forcing a smile, and only spoke once to ask Lily about her day. She was so special to him. He could listen to his little girl (who wasn't so little anymore) talk about her homework or her favorite show for the rest of his days. But not even she could pull out a genuine smile from him that night.

As he stood up from the table, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It was a message from Nick.

'Hey man, did I leave my helmet at your place the other day?', it read.

"Who is it? Is it Rhett?", he heard his wife ask with what he thought sounded like hope in her voice.

"Nah, it's Nick. He thinks he left his helmet here on Saturday. I'll go check", he said as he walked over towards the garage door.

Their garage wasn't big but it had enough space to store a couple of boxes and to keep his bike there as well. When he turned on the lights, he immediately saw Nick's helmet on the floor next to his bike, which had Link's own helmet hanging from one the handlebars.

He took out his phone and texted back, 'Yes, it's here.' _If Rhett's going to be busy all weekend, I might as well go mountain biking again_ , he thought before sending, 'If you want to go up again this weekend, I'll give to you then.'

'Sure. I need the work out anyway, but actually a friend of mine needs to borrow it tomorrow. Do you mind if I pick it up tonight?'

'Sure, no problem', Link texted back even if he wasn't really in the mood for socializing.

'Great. I'll be there in ten.'

  
When he heard Nick's car pull up, he grabbed the helmet and walked outside. Nick had already got out of the car and was walking towards the entrance, so they met half way on Link's front lawn.

"Thanks, man. Sorry to bother you this late", Nick said as Link handed him the helmet.

"Nah, it's no bother really", he shrugged.

Nick frowned curiously. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah", he lied, but the other man just lifted an eyebrow accusingly. _Fine, fine_. Link sighed. "It's just stuff with Rhett again. No big deal." _It's half-true at least._

"What did he do this time?"

"Nothing, he just drives me crazy I guess."

"Hasn't he always?", Nick teased, and it took Link a second to understand what he meant.

He blushed and quickly looked away, making Nick laugh. "Shut up." When Link thought there wasn't nothing left to say, he suddenly had an idea. _Why not?_ , he thought. "Hey are you doing anything on Thursday?"

"Uh no, not really. Why?"

"I was thinking about taking the kids to go see a movie, maybe get something to eat first so we can give Christy a break. What do you say?"

"Sure, the kids would love it. And I know Karen will, she hasn't had much time for herself lately, so she could use a few hours of peace."

"Cool. Talk later then, you know, to figure out the tickets and stuff", Link said already turning to go back inside.

"Sure thing, and thanks again for the helmet. See ya, Link", Nick said.

"See ya."

"Oh and, Link...", Nick said, making Link stop and turn to look at him. "Don't worry about Rhett. Trust me, you drive him crazy too."

Link only gaped at him. Nick laughed and gave him a small wave, before walking away. It took Link a few seconds to get his legs to head back inside, still processing what Nick had said. When he closed the door behind him, he leaned his back on it and stared at the far wall.

_Do I?_

* * *

  
While Link was finishing his bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats the next morning, he got a text from Rhett.

‘Jess needs the car today. Pick me up?’

He wasn't sure if he was ready to face Rhett just yet. He had counted on having the time to think about what to do on his way to work before he saw Rhett again at the office. _Well, there goes my plan out the window_. ‘Ok. Be ready in twenty’, he texted back.  
When he pulled up in front of Rhett’s house, he blew the horn twice to let him know he was there. It was already part of their system. He knew Rhett would take about a minute before Link saw him appear out the gate. Since he was so tall, he would then get in the car being extra careful not to hit his head, and adjust the seat if Christy had used it the day before.

What Link didn't expect though, was the bright smile Rhett gave him when he walked out of the house. _What the… Did I_ _dream what happened yesterday?_ , he wondered for a moment.

"Morning buddy!", Rhett said when he opened the passenger door.

"Morning." It came out almost as a question. _Someone’s in a good mood…_

About a minute after they drove away from Rhett’s house, he couldn't seem to contain his excitement any longer. "Hey, guess what? I'm free on Thursday!"

Link could instantly feel himself tense up. _Oh shoot. Crap crap crap crap!_ He cleared his throat and tried to play it cool. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah, my father in law has to run some errands on Thursday so they changed their flight to Friday morning. Jess told me this morning. Good news, huh? We can go see that movie that we talked about!", Rhett said hitting Link's shoulder playfully with the back of his hand.

"Yeah, that's great, brother but uhmm, about that... I kinda already invited Nick. We were going to grab something to eat and then take the kids to see a movie, so the wives could have a night off, you know?"

Rhett adjusted himself uncomfortably on his seat to turn his eyes to the road in front of them. "Oh ok, yeah, I mean..."

"You could come though! Locke and Shep too, of course."

When Rhett hesitated for a second, Link gave him a quick glance and saw him frowning thoughtfully. "Nah, don't worry, I don't want to crash your plans", he said at last.

"Rhett, are you serious? You're not crashing anything, I'm inviting you."

"Pff, yeah, out of pity", Rhett muttered.

"What?! How can you.. jeez!" Link realized he was practically shouting, so he lowered his voice before adding, "You know what? You want to be a jerk? Fine. The invitation still stands."

"Whatever", Rhett said turning away his face away to stare out through his side window.

 _Great, fucking great_ , Link thought. He didn't usually curse but he was so angry that his hands were turning red from gripping the steering wheel so tight. Yet, neither of them said another word for the rest of the ride.

Rhett practically jumped out of the car when Link pulled over in the office parking lot, slamming the door so hard that he scrunched up his shoulders and hissed.

"Ups sorry", he said to Link.

"For being a jerk?", Link said lifting an eyebrow, anger still in his voice.

Rhett looked back at him almost outraged. "For slamming the door of your car", he huffed out before picking up his pace to leave Link behind.

He was sure he heard Rhett mutter something under his breath, but he was already too far away for Link to make it out completely. _Maybe it’s better that way_ , he thought, knowing too well that his self control on retaliating had already failed terribly.

 

Link tried to talk Stevie into changing their schedule to try to avoid filming, but his attempts at persuasion failed miserably. She insisted that they were already a few episodes behind, and with Rhett taking Friday off, delaying things even more would make their schedule for the following week completely unbearable.

“You know I love you guys, but I can't have you making drama this week. Or the next. And maybe the week after that too”, Stevie told Link. “Just talk to him. Honestly, I don't know what's with the two of you lately. You used to talk things out all the time.”

“It’s different this time, Stevie”, Link said sadly.

“Even more reason to talk to him then.” She gathered up a few things from her desk and added, “We start in ten.”

Link hated knowing that she was right, but he figured that it was part of the reason why they had always considered her opinion invaluable. He already knew there was no winning this argument. They had to film. So he agreed, nodding silently before walking out of Stevie’s office with her right behind him.

“Thank you. It’ll be fine, I promise”, she said now heading towards the studio.

Link, on the other hand, headed towards their office. He had to talk to Rhett before shooting, which gave him only ten minutes to make everything right. _There’s no way_ , he thought. He didn't trust himself, since he knew his mouth worked faster than his brain, so not only would he fail at making things better but he could actually make them worse.

He took a deep breath before opening the door. When he did, he saw Rhett shoot up from his desk, only to then slowly take a few steps towards the door. Link locked it behind him but didn't dare to move any closer, so he just stood there fidgeting with his wedding ring.

When their eyes met, they started speaking at the same time.

"Hey-"

"Listen-" They laughed awkwardly. "You go first", Link said signaling for Rhett to go on.

"No no, you go", Rhett replied quickly, mirroring Link's gesture.

"Uhm, okay. It's just that we're gonna start filming in ten so... I guess... I just don't want any 'are Rhett and Link fighting?' type of comments. You know I hate them."

Rhett chuckled. "Even if they're right?"

"Specially if they're right."

They both genuinely laughed this time, the tension dissolving between them, and Link couldn't help but stare at Rhett. Even if the light from the window was hitting Rhett's eyes in the most perfect angle, Link was sure he could see a different sort of light in them as well, which encouraged him to take a couple steps towards his friend.

"Truce then?"

"For now, yeah. But you know we gotta talk about this, right? Whatever it is", Link said trying to look anywhere but at Rhett. He froze when he suddenly felt a hand on his forearm. When he felt Rhett's thumb move gently up and down, his whole body relaxed and he looked up at the taller man.

Rhett was a lot closer now and he was looking at his own hand on Link's arm with a serious face. "I know. It's just... with so much going on, it never seems like quite the right time, does it?"

"Yeah", he sighed. _That's the problem_.

When Rhett met his eyes, he pulled his arm up until his hand found Rhett's. It was course and a bit sweaty, as always, but Link didn't care. He rubbed his thumb once over the back of Rhett's hand before he felt the other man give him a little squeeze, pulling a smile from both of them.

It was Link who pulled away first, as he took a step back. "So, are you ready to show the world your baby beard?", he said still smiling and nodded towards the door.

Rhett smiled widely. "As ready as I'm ever gonna be. But is the world ready for my baby beard? That's the real question."

"Well, there's only one way to find out."

 


	6. Chapter 6

They spent the rest of the rest of the week filming and luckily every episode turned out great. Their truce stood without a problem, until Thursday afternoon when Rhett noticed that Link was anxious, bouncing his leg non stop. It was 4:30 and they had just finished filming the last episode on their schedule for the week, so since they still had another hour before they went home, they decided to write some notes on what had already been edited of Buddy System so far.

As Rhett opened his laptop, he saw Link turn his chair around out of the corner of his eye, still bouncing his leg, but not saying a word. When he turned around to look at him, Link stopped moving his leg but instead started picking at the arm rest of his chair.

“So… are you coming tonight?”, Link asked shyly.

Rhett tensed up immediately, as he realized he was still bitter about Nick’s little movie date with Link. “Nah, I’m exhausted. I think I’ll just have an early night tonight”, he lied, trying not to sound upset.

“Are you sure? ‘Cause I really do want you to come.”

He could see Link meant it, causing him to smile. A warm feeling ran through his body, pushing any angry thoughts away, but even so, he figured it wasn't a good idea. Although he liked Nick a lot, he wouldn't exactly love to be around him right now. Besides, between Nick and the kids, he would hardly get a minute with Link alone, which was what they really needed so badly.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Have fun though”, he ended up saying like it was no big deal.

“Okay”, Link said with a shrug, but Rhett could see the disappointment in his eyes. “If that’s what you want...”  
Link turned his chair to look back at his desk, leaving Rhett staring at the back of his head. After a couple of seconds, he did the same, and they went back to work.

 _It’s gonna be a long hour.._. , Rhett thought. But Friday would be even longer.

  
To Rhett, Friday was endless. He picked up Jess’s parents at around noon, before lunch. When they got home, he barely had one or two bites of what Jessie had prepared before he was suddenly being dragged around all over town.

The worst part for him, however, was Link’s radio silence. Rhett had insisted that Link called him if he needed anything, but he hadn't. He knew Link would be fine, since he was clearly more than capable of running everything by himself, but Rhett still checked his phone every two minutes just in case. He would have jumped straight into his car and headed to work in a heartbeat if Link had given him the slightest sign that he needed Rhett to be there. But the sign had never come, and by the end of the day, he was physically and emotionally exhausted.

When Saturday morning came, after an almost sleepless night, he was even more tired. He sat by the kitchen isle staring out the window with an untouched cold cup of coffee in his hand, when Jess came in, startling him out of his thoughts.

“So what's the plan for today?”, he asked her, knowing he would dread the answer whatever it was.

“We wanted to go for a walk, maybe do some shopping near by. I actually wanted to take mom to that new place I showed you the other day, so I think we’ll end up having lunch there.”

“Cool. I’ll go get ready”, he said standing up.

“Who said you were invited?”, she retorted mischievously, while Rhett walked over to the fridge and put his mug inside, making Jess giggle.

“What?”

She looked at him lovingly.“Honey, look at you. You’re exhausted. Why don't you stay in today and sleep some more?”

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks anyway”, he said before kissing her forehead, but as he tried to walk away, she grabbed his hand to stop him.

“What's the point in coming if you’re not really gonna be there?”, she said softly.

Rhett scrunched up his face, clearly confused. “What do you mean?”

“You’re distracted again.” She let go of his hand and walked towards the fridge. Just as he was about to open his mouth to defend himself, she opened the door and took out his coffee mug, raising an eyebrow.

“I… I was going to drink that later.”

“Sure you were”, she said placing the mug on the counter. “You may be here, but your mind’s not.”

“I’m sorry”, he said a bit embarrassed.

“Don't be. Besides, I think I’ve got a pretty good guess about where your mind is”, Jess teased him as she walked back towards him. “So why don't you ask him out to lunch?”

Rhett huffed out a laugh. “Are you really encouraging me to ask Link out on a date?”, he joked.

“If that would make things better, yes. I am.”

He was shocked by the seriousness in her voice, but soon decided it was probably just wishful thinking. “Jess, he’s probably busy anyway. He-”

“It’s still worth a shot. Just call him. If he’s busy, then you know where we’ll be”, she said walking out of the kitchen.

 _She’s right. What do I have to lose?_ , he thought, unconsciously reaching for his mug to take a sip. He realized what he was doing as soon as the cold coffee touched his lips, and figured Jess might have a point after all, so he tossed the rest of the it in the sink before setting up the coffee maker again. _I’ll call him as soon as I’ve had some proper breakfast. I’m starving._

 

* * *

"Hello?", Rhett said as he closed the door behind him. He and Link always allowed each other to walk right into the other man's house like it was the most normal thing in the world. They knew it wasn't, but then again nothing about their relationship was exactly normal. It had taken their wives a little bit of adjusting at first, but they were now completely used to it. Or resigned.

"In here!", he heard Christy yell from the kitchen. He knew she must have been making lunch, which made sense given that it was well over noon. She turned to him and gave him a big smile as soon as she saw him. "Hey Rhett! Long time no see! Looking for Link, right?", she said before giving him a hug.

"Hey! Yeah, I tried calling him but he didn't answer. I was going to go for a drive anyway, so I figured I could stop by just in case."

"Oh well, he went mountain biking with Nick today and the signal is awful out there. They left quite early so it shouldn't take them much longer. I'm just finishing this up, so you can always stay for lunch if you want to wait for him."

"Oh, I'm fine. Had a late breakfast, thanks though", he said trying to hide that his heart had just sunk. _Nick again? Besides..._ "Didn't they go mountain biking last weekend?"

"Yes, they did. But hey, if my husband wants to do a little extra work out, I'm not gonna complain, you know?", she joked. "Why do you ask?"

He knew Christy had picked up on something, even if he was trying to play it cool. _Because he didn't tell me. He used to tell me everything but...what if that’s Nick’s role now? It can't be... right?_

"Oh, no reason. I just thought it was weird he didn't mention it, that's all", he shrugged without meeting Christy’s eyes.

"Rhett!"

He turned and saw Lily running towards him to give him a hug. "Hey you!", he said hugging her back. He pulled back and looked at her curiously. "Is it me or did you get taller?"

"I don't know, maybe", she laughed. "Locke and Shep are here all the time but you haven't come around much lately."

Christy had mentioned that too, but hearing Lily call him out on it struck a cord with him much more. _Maybe it's because she reminds me of Link so much_. "It can't have been that long... has it?", he asked looking back at Christy.

"Well, I called you just the other day, but I think the last time I actually saw you was when we had you guys over for dinner about two months ago. No wonder Link had to find himself a new best friend."

"What?". He felt himself freeze in his place.

"I'm just messing with you!", Christy laughed. "Aww, you should have seen your face. I got you worried there for a second. I just meant that he's been spending more time with Nick 'cause you've been so busy lately. Honey, can you set the table, please?", she said turning to Lily.

"Are you staying for lunch, Rhett?", the girl asked him sweetly.

"No, I don't think so, Lil, but c'mon I'll help you with the table."

"Did you want to tell him something? I can tell him to call you when he gets back", Christy said going to turn the stove off.

"No, it was nothing important”, he lied. “ Just had a bit of free time and thought I'd see if he wanted to hang out", he explained while placing the knifes and forks on the table.

When everything was set, he turned to Lily to give her a high five, placing his hand purposefully a little too high so that she would have to take a little jump to return it.  
The kids always enjoyed trying to hit his hand as he playfully moved it even higher away from them, and he always enjoyed watching them try. Lily tried and failed twice before she forcefully pulled down his arm, getting his hand easily within her reach.

“Hey, that's cheating!”, he laughed, making her giggle.

“Well, you’re not playing fair either!”

The way she said it reminded Rhett of the times when he and Link would play together as kids, and he was pretty sure many silly arguments back then had started with those same two phrases. _Simpler times_ , he thought, smiling fondly at Lily.

"Rhett!" This time when he turned around he was met with a hug from not one but two mini versions of Link.

"Hey, Lando!", he laughed lifting the youngest brother off the floor. He had grown so much lately that Rhett thought it was probably one of the last times he'd be able to pick up Lando without worrying about his back. He put the giggling kid down, and then turned to Lincoln who had already sat down at the table and turned his attention back to a game he was holding. "Oh I recognise that game, Locke can't stop playing it. He got you hooked too?", he teased him and poked him on the side. He knew Lincoln was ticklish, all of Link's kids were. _Wonder where they got that from..._

Lincoln wriggled and tried to poke Rhett back, which only encouraged the man to poke him again and again and again.

"Okay, okay, stop! I give up!", Lincoln practically yelled, throwing his hands up. "Are you staying for lunch?", he asked with a smile as he tried to catch his breath.

"Nah, I was actually about to head out."

He knew his family would be home in less than an hour, and even though Jessie knew that he may be having lunch with Link, he didn't think that 'I had lunch with the Neals while waiting for Link to get home' would sit too well with his wife. Not when her parents were in town at least.

"Are you sure? There's always room for one more. Link should already be on his way", Christy assured him.

"Yeah, thanks Chris. Another time", he replied scratching the back of his neck.

"Are you coming back to talk to dad later? I wanted to show you the new game I got for my Xbox", Lincoln said.

"Or we could play the game I learned yesterday!", Lando added excitedly.

"Uhmm..."

"Okay, okay, it's not like Rhett doesn't have a life and a family of his own. He'll come back when he can, right?", Christy said trying to calm the kids down.

"Right. We can do all that next time, okay? I'll bring the boys over too", he promised. He winked at them and said goodbye before Christy walked him to the front door.

She opened the door and leaned on it as Rhett took a step outside. Christy looked back towards the kids and then back again to the tall man now facing her.

"They've clearly missed you. We all have, and that includes Link too.”

“I’ve missed you guys too”, he said. And he meant it. He loved those kids almost as much as his own, since he and Link had practically raised their families together.

“I actually wanted to talk to you real quick, if you don't mind. C’mon, I’ll walk you to your car”, she said following Rhett outside and closing the door behind her.

“About what exactly?”

“You know very well about what, Rhett.” _Yeah, I do_. She sighed, before continuing. “I don't know what’s going on between you guys, but I’ve never seen Link like this before.”

“I… I don't-”

“No, just listen”, she cut him off. When they got to the car, she placed her hand on his arm to make him turn around to face her. He thought she’d be angry, but when he looked at her he was met with gentle, almost pleading eyes. “You don't have to tell me what’s really going on. That’s between the two of you. But Rhett… I need my husband back, and you’re the only one who can help me with that.”

He instantly felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. He hadn't realized how much this was also affecting the people around them, and for a moment he wondered if Jess felt the same way.

When Rhett remained silent, Christy went on. “He’s keeping to himself a lot lately, and on the worst days, I can barely pull out a word from him. He hasn't told me much, but I know he’s constantly thinking about you and whatever the deal with you guys is. Apart from me and the kids, you’re the only other thing in the world he cares that much about. So, work this out, Rhett, please. If not for me, then for Link, because I can't see him like this anymore.”

“I’ll try, Chris. I’m really trying”, he whispered, trying his best not to choke up. _We both are_.

“Okay, then. That's as much as I can ask from you I guess”, she said rubbing his arm a bit to comfort him. “Also, could you not tell Link about this? I don't think he’d like me talking to you about this, but it's because I care. About both of you.”

He smiled sadly. “Of course. I know.”

“Just don't let it go this long without coming over again, okay?", she scolded him.

"I won't, I promise. Thanks, Chris." He hugged her goodbye and walked around the car to the driver door, while Christy watched him from the sidewalk with her arms folded.

When he got in, he heard Christy tap on the passenger window, so he lowered it down. "I really was joking about Nick. You know that, right? He still likes you the best, and I doubt that’s ever gonna change. Sometimes I even think he likes you better than me." She winked and waved at him before stepping back to walk back towards the house.

  
Once he was driving, Rhett thought that even if he hadn't talked to Link, visiting the Neals had still left him with a lot to think about. Now he knew that he and Link were in the same page, that Link was struggling as much as he was. Yet there was much more at stake than he had previously thought, which made him shiver nervously.

He drove aimlessly for a while before heading home, so as he pulled up onto his driveway, he found that his family had already beat him there. As he stared at them through the living room window, still sitting in the car, he realized that their happiness was on the line too. _We can't screw this up, we just can’t._

After turning off the engine, he remembered what Christy had said about Link still linking him the best, and the thought pulled out a smile from him. _But I believe in us, Link. Always have and always will._

With the keys already in his hand, he grabbed his cellphone from the passenger seat and headed inside.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Rhett checked the time on his phone. It was a bit over four, which meant he had been sitting on the couch with his kids and his father in law watching TV for about an hour, but to him, it had felt like ages. He wasn't really paying attention to the basketball game on the screen, specially since it was a rerun of an old game he had already watched, but he knew Jessie would have said something about it if she hadn't gone out with her mother again.

“Imma get some water. Anybody want anything?”, he said. The boys shook their heads, but his father in law asked for a beer. Although Rhett would have normally teased him about it being too early for a beer, this time he just nodded and headed for the kitchen.

Just as he was grabbing the bottle of beer from the fridge, he heard his phone ring in his back pocket. When he pulled it out and saw the name ‘Link’ on the screen, he immediately forgot about how he wanted to get himself a glass of water, and picked up.

"Hey, Link!", he said way more excitedly than he intended, so he closed his eyes a bit embarrassed. _Great start_.

"Hey! I-"

“Dad, quick, you gotta see this shot! Come watch the replay!” Locke shouted from the couch.

"Oh, can you talk?", Link said from the other end, clearly having heard Locke calling for him.

"Yeah, yeah. Just hold on a sec... Shep, give this to your grandpa, please", he said catching his youngest son’s attention and pointing at the beer he had just placed on the table. He then opened the door of his backyard and walked outside, closing it again behind him. "That’s better, what's up?"

"Not much. Uhm...Christy said you stopped by."

"I did, yeah..."

"Thought you'd be busy all weekend." Rhett thought he could hear a hint of sadness in Link’s voice.

"I did too, but I had a little time and… I just thought I'd see if you wanted to have lunch or something."

Link sighed. "Sorry I wasn't here. Really." _I know_.

“'S alright, you didn't know. Had a good ride today?", he asked even if he didn't really want to hear about Link’s little adventure with Nick.

"Yeah, you know, same as ever. Would've preferred lunch though."

The words immediately brought a smile to Rhett’s face. "Would it be too selfish to say 'me too'?"

He heard Link huff out a laugh. "Maybe. But don't worry, I don't judge", he said teasingly.

"Thanks", Rhett laughed before both of them fell silent for a couple of seconds.

"See you on Monday then?", Link finally said.

"Yeah, of course..." _Say something, say something, say something_. Just as Link was about to hang up, Rhett blurted out, "Link, about that talk we need to have...”

“Yeah?”

“Uhm, I was thinking we could stay at the office after work, if you want."

"On Monday?"

"Only if you want though, we-"

"No, yeah, sure. I mean... yes, I'd like that", Link said practically tripping on his own tongue, and making Rhett smile along the way. He had always thought it was cute when Link did that, even if it happened all time.

He turned to glance inside at his family before saying, "Okay, then. I should go, so see you on Monday I guess?"

"Yeah, see ya."

It took Rhett a second to pull the phone away from his ear, and it was only when he looked at the screen that he realized that Link hadn't ended the call yet either. He smiled sadly, but as much as he needed to talk to Link, he knew it wasn't a conversation they should have on the phone, so he decided to hang up anyway. As he put his phone back in his pocket, he sighed as if gathering himself up, and then headed back inside.

* * *

  
"Morning there!"

"Morning! How was the weekend?", Link said turning his chair and watching Rhett walk over to his desk.

"It was fun, but long. Emphasis on long. After all that, coming to work is almost relaxing, man.” He let out a deep sigh as he sat down. "It's good to be back."

Link huffed out a laugh. "Back? You were gone for a day."

"Don't act like you didn't miss me around here", he teased Link as he turned his chair to look at him.

"It wasn't me who showed up at your house on Saturday."

 _Ouch, touché._ He blushed. "Well, you ran this whole circus alone for 24 hours. I had to make sure you hadn't sunk the company or something." Link just kicked his foot in response, making Rhett laugh and put his hands in the air in surrender. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! You know I trust you more than I trust myself when it comes to business stuff."

"And probably rightly so if you call it 'business stuff'", Link laughed as he turned back his chair. "But thank you."

Rhett also turned back and took out his laptop before deciding to get something to drink from the kitchen. He stood up and started walking towards the door, only to stop halfway to look back at Link who was silently scrolling through his emails. He was nervous all of a sudden.

"Hey, we're still up for later, right?", he said shifting his balance from one foot to another.

Link stared at him blankly for a second, blushing instantly when he realized what Rhett meant. "Oh. Yeah, of course."

"Good, good." He looked away trying to shake away the awkwardness, but just as he was about to head for the kitchen, Link spoke again.

“It is good to have you back though, you know? I guess the office just feels too big if it's only me in here."

Rhett smiled, thinking that actually everything felt too big without Link by his side. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” _Missed you too, buddyroll._

 

  
The tension had been building up between them again throughout the day. Rhett didn't think he could take another second of the awkward silence and Link’s endless leg bouncing, so it was a little over four when he decided to take his empty mug to the kitchen.

When he walked out, he found the place was deserted. _That’s weird. I thought we were on a tight schedule, people_ , he thought, although he was too distracted to really care about it.

Once he placed the mug in the sink, he leaned on the counter for a while, trying to avoid going back for as long as possible. He ended up washing his mug and three other ones that the crew had left behind, rearranging some of the snacks on the cupboard and opening the fridge door two or three times to stare inside pointlessly, before finally deciding to head back.

 _It’s gonna be fine, it’ll be just fine_ , he told himself over and over again as he walked by the empty desks, and just when he thought there was no one left, he saw Stevie coming out of the hallway.

"Oh, there you are, I was just leaving", she said as she approached him.

He squinted suspiciously. "You too? Since when do y'all leave so early?"

"Since we know we're not wanted around", she said with a grin. He opened his mouth but closed it again without saying a word, blushing slightly. "I already sent you both the notes you wanted but we can talk about that tomorrow. You've got only one thing to worry about right now...and he's waiting for you in your office."

He smiled warmly at her. "Thank you, Stevie."

She smiled and bowed her head in acknowledgment. "Good luck", she said patting him on the shoulder before walking past him towards the exit.

After he saw her walk out the door, he turned around to head for their office at the end of the hallway. He found himself wishing it was longer, so he’d have time to think of something to start the conversation, but only three strides later, he was already in front of the door, which was open widely.

Link was sitting on the couch, leaning his elbows on his knees and pressing his eyes with the heels of his hands.

"Hey", he said as walked in, trying to sound casual.

"Hey", Link said lifting his head. He watched as Rhett closed the door behind him, even if he didn't need to now that they were alone in the building. When Rhett just stood there, he felt like he needed to fill the silence. "This is it then."

"I guess so." Rhett sighed as he walked over to his chair near the desk and sat down, immediately starting to rub his hands on his thighs anxiously. "I'm nervous. Is that weird?"

"I don't know, but I'm nervous too", Link said. But Rhett already knew that, since he noticed Link hadn't stopped fidgeting with his wedding ring since he walked in. "I’d say let’s get right into it, but I don't even know where to start."

"Man, I don't even know what's going on in the first place!”, he huffed out. “I don't know if it's good or bad, or both, but... I know damn well we ain't never been here before."

"We used to talk all the time, Rhett. Every time we had an argument, we would talk it out. Every time. How did we let it go this long?"

"Well, for starters, it didn't really help that we barely saw each other lately, did it?"

Link shook his head, dismissing the idea. "We see each other every day, man. That's not an excuse."

"You known what I mean, Link. Don't try to make me sound crazy here", he said blatantly.

"I'm not! I do know what you mean but that's never stopped us before. Sometimes office time is all the time we get. Do I like that? No, but I've never felt like I was losing my best friend before!"

Rhett frowned thoughtfully. "I guess we always used to make the time, no matter how busy we were."

"It's not like I didn't try...", Link muttered looking away.

Rhett’s anger level was suddenly through the roof. "You're saying that like I didn't! I could have had lunch with my family on Saturday, Link, but instead what did I do? I went to your freaking house, man! Isn't that trying?!"

"It is, but-"

"But you weren't there! I tried, I did my part, so just because you and Nick took too long making out up on the freaking hills, don't blame it on me!", he said standing up to pace up and down the office.

Link closed his eyes and frowned, processing what Rhett had just said. "What?! Is that what this all is about? Nick? Since when does Nick have to do with anything?"

"Since he became your new best friend, I guess!", he burst out.

Link huffed out a laugh and stood up, walking to the opposite side of where Rhett was standing. "You're just being ridiculous now..."

"Am I really though? It makes perfect sense to me! Maybe we haven't been talking that much because maybe that's not my role anymore! I mean, you did spend OUR entire wrap up party talking to him, you've been going mountain biking more often, you even had a little movie date on Thursday..."

"To which I invited YOU first! I only invited him because you were busy, and it wasn't a date, you idiot! Did you actually stop to think 'ah yes, what a nice date it must have been with five children running around all time'?!"

"That's-"

Link went on before he got to say another word. "I even told you to come when you said you were free! But you just HAD to be a jerk about it, didn't you?! Gosh, you're infuriating sometimes...", he said turning his back to Rhett.

Neither of them said anything for a few seconds, until Rhett let out a deep sigh. "You're right, I'm sorry", he decided to admit. It also seemed to surprise Link, who turned around with a confused look on his face. "I guess… I started feeling like I was your second choice, and I wouldn't say I liked that very much."

"So you were jealous... of Nick?", Link said slowly, as if trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle in his own mind.

"Okay, yes, I guess I was, but-"

"But he's not you, Rhett. Are you really that blind?" Link sighed, taking a couple steps towards him. "I spent our wrap up party talking to Nick and Karen because you were always talking to other people. Besides, you know I don't feel comfortable going up to talk to people I don't know if you're not there with me. Also, if I've been going mountain biking more often, it's because you've been so busy lately that we couldn't really hang out, man. The only reason I even go mountain biking with Nick in the first place is because it hurts your back and you can't go. You're always my first choice, Rhett, can't you see?"

The sweetness in Link’s voice made Rhett feel all warm inside, pulling out a shy smile from him. "Even after all the fights?"

"Specially after all the fights! I felt like every time I reached out, you would push me away. We've been talking about nothing but work for the past three months and it's been killing me, Rhett!" He put his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and turned his now watery eyes to the floor before continuing in a much lower voice. “I felt like you didn't need me anymore, and I needed you so much..."

It took Rhett less than a second to close the distance between them. Before Link had time to think, he felt Rhett’s arms wrap around him so tightly that he seemed to be holding onto Link’s smaller frame for dear life. He nuzzled his face into Rhett’s neck and after a second, he slid his hands up Rhett’s back, grabbing his shirt as he pulled him as close as they could possibly get.

"I'm sorry, Link. I'm so so sorry", Rhett said pulling back a little to place his forehead against Link’s.

"I'm sorry too." Link closed his eyes, trying to push back the tears.

Rhett ran his thumb over his cheek before pushing some of Link’s hair back into place. "I'll always need you, silly, you're my best friend."

"You're mine too, but... there's something else, isn't there?"

Rhett smiled. "Thank God I'm not the only one that feels that way", he joked.

Link chuckled, pulling Rhett back in to rest his head on the other man’s shoulder. "What even are we anymore, Rhett?"

"I don't know, buddyroll, but I think the term 'old married couple-esque friends' has probably never been truer." They both laughed this time. After it died down, they stayed like that for a minute or two, holding each other mostly in silence apart from Link’s occasional sniff. "So, do you wanna divorce me?"

"No, do you?", Link said without missing a beat.

Rhett smiled and pushed away to look at him. "Never." He kissed Link’s forehead, holding his lips there for a second before taking a step back. "I guess we'll have to figure it out as we go then. You know, see what we’re comfortable with."

"Sounds like fun to me", Link said lifting an eyebrow mischievously.

With Link’s eyes being so blue, there was no mistaking when they got suddenly darker. It then clicked in Rhett’s mind that it was probably Link who asked everyone to leave early. _Sneaky bastard_.

“Oh, trust me. It sounds like fun to me too.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

_This is happening_. He just openly flirted with Rhett, and Rhett flirted back. Neither of them playing it off as joke. It seemed so natural, yet so ridiculous that Link could only giggle at the whole situation, making Rhett do the same.  
The taller man was beaming him a smile that made Link’s heart skip a beat; the same smile that had always made his world stop turning and the same smile that in that very moment, made Link feel so loved that he couldn't hold back anymore.

He lunged forward, closing the space between them. He stood on the tip of his toes and holding onto the front of Rhett’s shirt for balance, he pressed their lips together. He heard Rhett inhale sharply but immediately felt his own body relax when Rhett’s lips started moving against his. For a split second, Link felt absolute bliss, like every moment in his life had been leading him here, with Rhett.

When he felt one of the other man’s hands on his hip, as the other came up to the back of his neck, pulling him closer, Link was fairly certain that Rhett wanted this too. Still, his anxious mind insisted that he pull back to make sure.

When he opened his eyes, he found an overwhelmed Rhett staring back at him. As they steadied their breathing, Link scanned Rhett’s face for any sign of disgust or discomfort, but was relieved when he didn't find any. Instead, after a second or two, he saw a smile tugging on his friend's lips.

“I could get used to that”, Rhett almost whispered.

It made Link laugh softly, but it was soon cut off by Rhett, who leaned down to kiss him again. This time it was quick, however. Too quick, he thought but before he could protest, he saw how Rhett’s face had suddenly changed into a sad smile.

“How far do we go though?”, Rhett said as he let go of Link and took a step back. “'Cause you know this doesn't affect just us.”

 _He’s right_ , Link thought. He looked down and started fidgeting with the golden ring on his left hand as he felt reality coming back to him. “You think we should tell them? Christy and Jessie?”

“I think we owe them that much.” Rhett sighed.

Link suddenly found himself fighting away a feeling of panic. “What is there to tell them though? We don't even know how this works yet! Or if it works at all!”

He recognized the lie as soon as it came out of his mouth, and he knew Rhett did too. It was the fear talking. _Who am I kidding? It's us, of course it’ll work._

“We need to figure this out, but... shouldn't we do that with them too? I mean, otherwise it just feels...”

 _Wrong_. “Yeah, I know.” He didn't need to hear it, though. It had always felt right to stand by Rhett’s side; even through the rough patches and the arguments, they had always felt right together, so he didn't want to ruin that, but... “I’m sorry, I just can't throw away the life I've built for a chance to figure this out, Rhett.”

“I'm not asking you to. I would never leave my family either, man, but I can't lie to Jessie. I really can't.”

Link walked to the other side of the room, away from Rhett, before turning back to face him again. “So what? We just hold back? Pretend nothing's changed? ‘Cause I don't know if I can do that.”

“We could but… I really don't want to.”

 _I don't want to either._ “I just... I don't want to hurt them, Rhett. But I don't want to hurt you either.”

“We’ve already hurt them, Link. D’you think it's been fun for them seeing us miserable these past couple of months? If we hold back and say nothing about this, we’ll suffer, so they'll suffer too. Might as well be upfront about it and take our chances.”

Link sighed. He knew Rhett was right, but still couldn't help letting his fears speak for him. “What if she hates me for this? Or worse, what if she hates you for this?”

“She could never hate you, Link. I mean, I doubt I'll ever be her favorite person in the world after this, but I also don't think it'll come as such a surprise. I know it won't to Jessie anyway.”

“How do we go about it then? 'Cause it's not like we can just ask them to share”, Link said, now pacing up and down.

“Although that's sort of what we're asking...”

“Would you?! If it was Jessie, would you share?!”, he burst out.

Rhett frowned thoughtfully. “Probably not.”

“Then how can we ask them to do it? We're just being selfish here!”

“Hey, hey, listen. Look at me.” He felt Rhett’s hand on his arm trying to stop his pacing. Once Rhett had his attention, he cupped his face forcing Link to keep his eyes on him. “I'm just as scared as you are, okay? I know what I want, Link, but I'm not an idiot. I know I'll never have it all, life's just not that generous. So I'll take what I can get, whatever you're willing to give me and whatever they're willing to accept.” He shrugged. “Even if they refuse entirely, at least I can say I tried. For you.”

The honesty in Rhett’s words and the sweetness in his eyes grounded him, so he took a deep breath before smiling sadly. _For you, I’ll try anything._

“D'you think they know?”, he said suddenly a lot calmer.

“Of course they know, man. Everybody knows, c'mon... People have been pointing out how weirdly close we are since we were ten years old”, Rhett replied as he walked over to sit on the couch. “And I kind of hate that they were right.”

The thought stung a little, but he knew what Rhett meant. While some people wouldn't look at them twice, others would sometimes look at them funny, specially back in the day in North Carolina.  
He even remembered overhearing a conversation between his mom and an older woman back when he and Rhett were kids, where the old lady suggested that his mom should make sure that he and Rhett wouldn't get too close. He hadn't understood what she meant back then, but even if his mom never did or said anything about it, society still made sure they got the message anyway.  
‘Close but not too close’ had practically been the way Rhett and Link tried to face their relationship for a good number of years, but walking that thin line of balance was never easy for them. So the comments kept coming, and Link hated it, but not because he was ashamed of being too close to Rhett, but because he never understood what was wrong.  
In fact, there was nothing he loved more than when it was just them and they could be themselves without no one around to judge them. It was people’s judgement what had frustrated Link for years, but being ‘too close’ to Rhett… it was one of the best things that had ever happened to him.

“Is it wrong if I'm also kinda glad they were?”, he said shyly.

Rhett smiled, shaking his head as if he had just followed Link’s trail of thought. “No, of course not. C'mere”, he said patting the place on the couch next to him.

As Link walked over to him, Rhett adjusted himself to sit further back on the couch and extended an arm out invitingly. Accepting his wordless offer, Link sat down and leaned back his head on Rhett’s chest, throwing his arm over the taller man’s middle as well. While Rhett half hugged him with one hand, the other one met Link’s fingers on his stomach before speaking again.

“Do you think we've been lying to ourselves this whole time?”, he wondered.

“It never felt like a lie to me.”

Rhett shook his head, confused. “Yeah, to me neither. But maybe that's precisely the point.” Link closed his eyes and he could have surely drifted off in no time if Rhett’s mind wheels had stopped turning for a second. “But then why now?”, he said a minute later.

“Mmm?”

“Why now? Why did it take us thirty years to see this when everybody else always did?”

 _Can't you let me enjoy this a little?_ “Can’t you just stop thinking for a second?”, he protested.

“What?”, Rhett said, clearly not following.

Link chuckled. “Nothing.” He knew Rhett’s mind never stopped, and even if it could be annoying sometimes, it was still endearing to see him get so wrapped up in his own thoughts. He sighed, already resigned, so he decided to answer Rhett’s question. “I wouldn't say that I didn't see it, but I did try to push it away. To push you away sometimes. I guess it made it easier.”

“Then what changed?”

“We did. Age and a move across the country will do that to ya, brother.”

Rhett considered the idea. “Are you saying we're wiser?”

“Well, I wouldn't go that far”, Link teased him before poking his belly. Rhett wriggled, making Link laugh, but after a second he continued seriously. “I guess I just grew tired of fighting it, that's all.”

“And all it took was almost breaking our friendship apart”, Rhett thought out loud.

“Told you we're not much wiser.” Link smiled and sat up at the edge of the couch, Rhett mirroring his action a second later.

“So, what do we do?”

Link sighed, staying quiet for a couple of seconds before seeming to reach a decision. “I think you're right. We need to talk to them before-“

“Before we explore this any further”, Rhett completed.

“If Jess or Christy aren't okay with any of this, we can still shut it all down. I'm not saying it'd be easy but, if we cross a certain line, do you think we could ever go back?”

“I guess not.” He shrugged. “So do you wanna talk to them together or…?”

“No, no. I think I’d rather talk to Christy alone first. Talking to them together…”, Link shivered at the thought. “It'd feel like I’m taking my new boyfriend to meet my parents.”

Rhett’s eyebrows shot up. “Boyfriend, huh?”, he said with a grin. When Link elbowed him on the side, he threw his head back, laughing harder than he had laughed in weeks. “Hey, I’m not saying I’d mind the title…”

“I bet you wouldn't”, Link retorted, only making Rhett laugh harder. He was trying to fake annoyance but he was also trying his best not to laugh (and failing miserably). “You laugh, but it won't be funny to them.”

As Rhett tried to contain his laughter, he kissed Link’s temple. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s not funny”, he said, unable to wipe the smile off his face. “Okay, maybe a little.”

Link snorted a laugh. “You’re such a dork.”

“And you love me.”

They both tensed up when they realized what Rhett had said. It had been a joke. They always joked like that, but now it was different. There was new meaning behind those words, and Rhett cursed himself for not realizing it before he spoke.

“I’m sorry, I-”

“No, I do”, Link cut him off.

“What?”

“I said I do love you”, Link said calmly as if he had said it a million times before. “Hardly any news”, he shrugged shyly.

Rhett stared at him for a few seconds, which seemed like an eternity to Link. Just when he was starting to think he had broken Rhett, he saw his lips turn upwards into the widest, warmest white smile Rhett had ever beamed his way.

“I love you too”, he said before leaning forward to give Link a chaste but heartfelt kiss. When he pulled back, he bit his lip since he couldn't stop smiling like an idiot. “Hardly any news either.”

Link could have stayed like that, smiling at Rhett in that office forever but he figured he’d better go home and talk to Christy first, even if he wasn't exactly looking forward to that conversation. Still, he knew it was the only way he could be with Rhett like this without a little voice in the back of his head constantly reminding him how guilty he should feel about it all.

He cleared his throat as he stood up. “I guess we should get going, don't you think?”

“Yeah…”, Rhett said, standing up slowly before stretching his back a little. “Lots of explaining to do.”

“I was hoping to talk to Christy tonight, unless you wanna wait a bit or something…”

“No, that's fine. I was gonna talk to Jessie tonight anyway so… text me later, I guess. You know, if she doesn't kill you”, Rhett said nudging him on the shoulder.

Link rolled his eyes. “Thanks, Rhett. That's real encouraging of you.”

Rhett only chuckled, since he could see how nervous Link really was. “I’m joking, man. It’ll be fine, I promise.”

“I hope so…”, Link said grimly.

Neither of them said anything while they gathered up their things to leave, already thinking of what waited for them at home. It was only on their way to the parking lot that Rhett broke the silence.

“Want me to drive you home?”, he asked since they had driven separately that day and he noticed Link was a lot more anxious than him.

Link shook his head and smiled sadly. “Nah, ‘s alright. Driving helps me think.”

When they reached their cars, Link opened the door and threw his backpack to the passenger seat, while Rhett stared at him from behind.

“Hey”, Rhett said putting his hand on Link’s waist to turn him around.

“Mmm?”, Link managed to get out, suddenly startled out of his thoughts.

Instead of giving him a reply however, Rhett swooped down and captured Link’s lips with his own. He kissed him hard and Link didn't waste a second before he was throwing his arms around Rhett’s neck and kissing him back with all the force he had. Neither of them seemed to care that they were outside and that any random passer by could have seen them. For a couple of seconds, there was only them in the world.

“What was that for?”, Link said breathing heavily as they pulled back.

“Just in case”, Rhett shrugged smiling. “If it ends up being against the rules, at least I got one more out of you before they set them.”

It made Link laugh, and Rhett congratulated himself for cheering him up. _I hope it's not the last one_ , Link thought as he lowered his arms back down. “Talk to you later, then.”

“Yeah…”, Rhett said as he stepped back to let Link get into his car.

Once he got in, he lowered the window with a smile on his face. “I’ll call you if she starts throwing knives at me.”

Rhett huffed out a laugh and nodded. “Roger that.”

“You better be there to save me, ‘cause if she kills me, it’ll be on your conscience, man.” They both laughed this time. When it died down, Link sighed. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck”, Rhett said warmly as he got out of the way for Link’s car to get out.

“You too.”

He waved at Rhett, seeing him head towards his car, and then set on his way. He didn't know how to explain any of this, not to himself and let alone to Christy, so he prayed to every God that could hear him to let him hit a traffic jam on the way home. He still needed to figure out where to begin.

 


	9. Chapter 9

They had left the office at around six, and even though it would normally take him about forty minutes to get home, he ended up taking about two hours, since much to his joy, the traffic was heavier than usual. On top of that, however, he drove around for about an extra hour to calm his nerves before he decided it was time to head home.

“Hey, guys!”, he said as he closed the front door behind him. He could see Lincoln and Lando sitting next to each other on the floor and Lily scrunched up on one side of the couch watching something on TV. Lincoln was playing the same game he had been playing for the past month while Lando watched him play silently.

“Hey, dad”, the two boys said in unison without looking up from the screen.

“I’m not a guy…”, Lily complained while Link crossed the living room and left his things on a chair.

 _Feisty like her mother_ , he thought, but it made him chuckle. “No, you’re not. Hi, Lil.” He walked over to where she was sitting and kissed her on the head. “Happy?”

She nodded, smiling at him, and he couldn’t help but smile back. For a second, his anxiety subsided, until he heard Christy’s voice behind him.

“Hi, honey”, she said automatically, making him tense up. She was sitting on the dining room table, working on her laptop in the place she called her strategic spot. From there, she could get some privacy to work in peace, while she could also watch the kids in the living room and monitor the kitchen if she had something on the stove. “How was your day?”

He walked over to her and gave her a peck, stalling as he hesitated for a couple of seconds, thinking about an appropriate answer. “Uhm… weird I’d say.”

“Your job’s always weird”, Christy laughed. She hadn’t seemed to notice anything, which relaxed him a bit.

He huffed out a laugh. “Extra weird then”, he said letting his guard down a bit, as he turned towards the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

His answer seemed to peak her curiosity, so she looked at him up and down as he walked away. “Good weird I’m assuming, right?”

“What makes you say that?”, he asked, half confused and half nervous again.

She breathed in thoughtfully as she seemed to analyze his face. “You seem… more like you again.”

He smiled, even if it was a bittersweet thought. “Thanks… I think.” They both chuckled. Trying to turn the conversation away from himself for a little bit, Link sighed and then went on. “I’m starving, is there anything to eat?”

Christy turned back her gaze to the computer screen on the table and replied absentmindedly, “There’s some leftovers in the fridge, but I just ordered some pizza if you wanna wait. It should be here any minute.”

“Cool.” He settled for getting himself a glass of water and some peanuts as a quick snack, before sitting down at the head of the table next to his wife while she worked. He pulled out his phone and he’d say his fingers pulled out his text conversation with Rhett before his mind could catch up.

Rhett and Christy were his safe place; they were the people he turned to when he needed to calm his mind, except talking to his wife at the moment only served to flare the flame of his anxiety even more. Therefore Rhett was his only other option, although he figured it would be unfair to put more pressure on his friend than the one he already had. Back at his house, Rhett was probably as scared as he was, but he was facing it all for Link.

The thought gave him just enough inner strength to convince himself to put his phone back in his back pocket. He and Rhett may have been facing this apart, but they were in this together. They always were, so he would have to face his fears too, for Rhett, because if he was sure of one thing, it was that Rhett was worth it.

“You’re late today”, Christy said casually, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Huh?”

“I mean, not late, but you’ve been spending less time at the office lately. Were you busy today?”

He inhaled sharply, and let the air out slowly. “Sort of. Had some stuff to figure out.” _It’s not technically a lie._

“Well, at least it means you and Rhett must be better then. It was about time.” She gave him a quick but genuine smile before looking back to the laptop. He could tell she didn’t expect an answer to her comment, so he ended up giving her only a halfhearted smile in return.

There was a moment of silence, and even though it may have been a split second, it clicked in Link’s brain that it was the perfect opportunity to say something, anything. It just had to be then and there, otherwise he didn’t trust himself to do it later. _C’mon! Just tell her you need to talk, you idiot! How hard can that be?_

“Hey, honey?”, he said in a shaky voice. She hummed in response, not taking her eyes off the screen in front of her. “Could we uhm… talk later?”

She glanced at him quickly, but then returned her focus to what she was doing. “Sure, what about?”

He thought of a way to explain it without freaking her out, yet when he looked up and saw the kids in the living room, he figured it wasn’t worth taking the risk. He didn’t want them to see their parents argue, especially not about this. “I’ll tell you later, okay?”

She frowned worriedly before looking at him again. “Okay, just… ‘S something wrong?”

“It’s complicated”, he sighed.

She closed her laptop and turned to give him her full attention. “You’re scaring me a bit”, she said in voice low enough that the kids wouldn’t hear.

“Sorry”, he said sadly.

“I was looking more for a ‘No, don’t be scared, sweetie. Everything’s gonna be fine’.”

He smiled even though it didn’t reach his eyes, and then leaned forward to place a kiss on her forehead. “Well, I hope so.” _I really do._

The doorbell rang, and very few times in his life had Link felt such relief. _Saved by the bell._

“That’ll be the pizza. This isn’t over, mister”, she said pointing a finger at him as she stood up.

“I’ll get it, you set the table”, he said blatantly ignoring the last part. “Kids, help your mom with the table.”

When they all sat down at the table, Link on one end, Christy on the other, she only gave him a stern look but that was it. She didn’t bring it up in front of the kids, which he was grateful for, so for an hour or two he could pretend everything was as normal as it always had been, but the feeling of impending doom never quite left him.

 

As soon as the kids started going to bed, he sneaked into the bathroom to take a shower, trying to avoid being alone with Christy for as long as he could. It was probably the longest shower he had ever taken, and that is saying a lot from someone who loves cleanliness as much as Link.

He put on an old t-shirt and his pajama bottoms, and after cleaning the bathroom and checking himself in the mirror for the twentieth time, there was nothing left for him to do but to come out. No pun intended.

When he opened the door, however, Christy was not there. He walked over to his side of the bed, and checked his phone, which he had left charging. There were no new messages. He thought that either Rhett was waiting for Link to text him first or his conversation with Jessie might not have gone well, but he tried to convince himself that it was probably the first option.

“So…”, he heard his wife say as she entered the room, closing the door behind her. She startled him so much, he almost dropped his phone. He unplugged it, knowing he’d have to text Rhett later, but still left it on his bed side.

“Yeah”, he said awkwardly, sitting by his pillow while Christy moved to sit by the foot of the bed.

She waited a few seconds for Link to go on, but then quickly understood that if she was going to get anything from her husband, she would have to take the first step. She sighed, frustrated. “Honey, is this about Rhett? Are you finally gonna tell me what’s going on with you guys?”

“Uhm, it is but… I mean I’ll tell you if you wanna know, but it’s a long story and-”

“I just want to know if you’re alright. Did you two make up?”

 _I’d say we did more than that._ “Yeah, we’re okay”, he said letting out a shaky breath. “Better than okay actually.”

She smiled, genuinely relieved. “Good.”

He immediately felt a pang of guilt that made him have to look away. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

“Whaddya mean?”, she asked tilting her head in confusion.

He stood up and started pacing up and down the room, still unable to meet Christy’s eyes. After hours of thinking, he still didn’t know where to begin, but the moment was here and he had to say something, so he just went with his instincts. He knew it probably wasn’t a good idea since his mouth spoke faster than his brain could process but it was all he had. _I have to face this… For Rhett._

“You know how you always say that Rhett and I have something special?”, he said nervously. “Something you ain’t never seen in anyone else?”

“Yeah, and I stand by that.”

“Well… you’re right”, he sighed giving into the whole situation, finally looking at her again.

“Hardly any news”, she said stating the obvious.

Those three words made Link inhale sharply, reminding him of the other three words he had told Rhett just a few hours before. The panic starting swelling up inside him and it was taking him every bit of will power to keep it together, but he knew he couldn’t hold it in much longer. He sat down next to Christy on the edge of the bed and reached out for her hand as he looked straight into her eyes.

“I love you. You know that, right? I love you so, so much.”

“I know, sweetheart”, she said squeezing his shaking hand tighter, clearly worried now.

“I need you to remember that, okay?” He realized he had started crying when a tear fell on the hand still on his lap and Christy cupped his face, wiping a tear from his cheek.

“Link? What’s wrong? Please, just tell me what’s going on”, she pleaded.

So he broke down. He let out a small sob as he now cried his eyes out. Christy let him let it all out for a minute, never letting go of his hand, until Link calmed down enough to speak again.  “I kissed him”, he blurted out at last.

She just blinked, not quite following. “Come again?”

“I kissed Rhett, Chris! I kissed him and I…”

“You’re being serious”, she said, her face falling as it all dawned on her.

He nodded, sniffing as he tried to gather himself up. “Yes.”

She gulped, removing her hand from his, in a mix of sadness and anger. “How long has this been going on?”

“Just today, I swear! I mean… I guess it’s been going on forever but it’s the first time anything has actually happened, I promise. It was just a kiss, that’s all we did. We knew we had to talk to you and Jessie before-”

“Before what, Link?! Should I be expecting more of this?!”, she yelled as she shot up from the bed, anger clearly having won the battle between her emotions.

“No, not if you’re not okay with this!”

“If I’m not okay with this?! What are you- I’m really not following here. Are you asking for my permission to… have an affair… with Rhett?!”

He lowered his head since he couldn’t hold her gaze after the accusation. “That’s not what this is…”

“Then what is this, Link?! Do you want a divorce? Are you and Rhett eloping now?”, she asked letting out an incredulous laugh.

“No, gosh, no! Chris, I would never leave you! Or the kids! You know, you MUST know that y’all mean the world to me!”

She looked at him for a couple of seconds, and finally seemed to decide he was telling the truth. “Well, so does Rhett or we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now…”, she said now calmer but still with a sting in her voice. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Trust me, neither do I…”

She walked over to look out the bedroom window, turning her back to Link. “I mean… weirdly, I can’t say it surprises me, you know? I’ve always known there was something between you two ‘cause… well, I have eyes.” Link chuckled sadly. “Yet I never thought this would happen.”

_Tell me about it._

After an endless minute, she sighed deeply and turned around to look at him again. “So you don’t want a divorce then?”, she asked at last.

“No. Definitely not”, he replied not missing a beat.

She was looking at him as if she was trying to figure out a puzzle in her own brain. “So you still wanna be with me… but you also want to be with Rhett?”

“Uhm… sort of, I-”

“Enough with the maybe’s, the sort of’s and all that cryptic crap, Link! I’m really trying to understand here! What. Do. You. Want?”

She sat back down next to him while he thought of how to respond. “I want you, and that’ll never change but… I want him too”, he said at last, a bit embarrassed. “We don’t really know how this works yet, we don’t have it all figured it out but I guess… I guess I want to find out what we could be, if that makes any sense. I know- we know, we can’t have it all. So it’s up to you.”

“Me? What is up to me?”, she asked startled.

“How far we can take this. You and Jess and the kids come before anything else we might want so it’s up to you.”

Christy crossed her arms with an intrigued look on her face, letting Link know she was at least going to let him state his case. “Okay, go on.”

“Worst case scenario, you and Jessie aren’t okay with any of this and we pretend none of this ever happened. And before you say anything, yes, I know holding back wouldn’t be exactly easy but it’s not like Rhett and I haven’t had thirty years of practice anyway. Best case scenario-”

“I have to share you with Rhett”, she said more to herself than Link.

“Well, yeah, sort of.” The ambiguity earned him a stern look from Christy, so he explained it further. “I mean the definition of ‘sharing’ would be entirely up to you. We’ll take whatever you’re willing to let us have. And I mean anything, Chris, really.” _Way to sound desperate, Neal… but it’s not like we aren’t._

“So you’re basically asking me if I’m okay with you banging your best friend.”

“No, I-” He knew he had immediately turned bright red, and thought for a second before continuing since he knew his mouth could otherwise betray him. “We haven’t even talked about that. I don’t know if he’d be up for it really.”

“So you’re saying you want to?”, his wife asked raising an eyebrow. In response, he just froze. He opened his mouth but no sound came out. She waited a bit just in case Link did end up saying something, but eventually she nodded, knowing she had her answer anyway. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“But we don’t have to do that, like I said-”

“Yes, I know, it’s up to me. You’ve said that already.” She sighed, frustrated, and got up again to head towards the bathroom. “I’ve just got one question.”

He nodded, as he followed her with his eyes. “Anything.”

She breathed in, and leaned on the frame of the bathroom door as she looked at him straight in the eye. “Could you ever really be happy again if I refused?”

The question left him speechless, not because he didn’t know the answer, but because he didn’t dare to say it out loud. He ended up settling for saying, “I don’t know.” Still, as his wife’s eyes searched his, he knew she could see right through him.

“I need to think about it then, okay?”, she sighed in defeat.

“Of course. Take as long as you need.”

“And I’ll need to talk to Jess about this first.”

He nodded. “Sure. I mean, I’ll have to check with Rhett first just in case, but I think it’ll be okay.”

“So that’s that then”, she sighed now staring at the air.

“Thank you, Chris”, he said clearly meaning it.

She shook her head sadly. “Don’t thank me just yet.”

“No, really. Thank you for even considering this. You have no idea what it means to me.”

She huffed out a sad laugh. “That’s the thing, honey. I do. Haven’t you wondered why I didn’t ask you if you love him?”

She had really caught him off guard. “I…”

“It’s because I already know the answer. So yeah, I do know what it means to you, both of you actually. It’s the only reason I’m even thinking about this. I mean, if it had been anyone else…”

“It could have never been anyone else”, Link assured her.

“I know, but still. If it had been anyone other than Rhett I swear God himself wouldn’t have been able to save you.”

He smiled as he stood up too. “I don’t doubt that. Thank you for sparing me.”

“For the moment”, she warned him with a little smile on her face that filled Link with hope that maybe, just maybe, everything would be fine.

“Fair enough”, he said laughing slightly. He stared at her lovingly for a couple of seconds, thinking how unbelievably lucky he was to have that woman by his side. He couldn’t have chosen someone better and it was still a mystery to him why she chose him back. _I don’t deserve you…_

His trail of thought was interrupted however, by his phone vibrating on the bed side table. He looked at it and then back to Christy, who had immediately lost any spark of contentment on her face. The moment was gone, so even though he figured chances were that it was a text from Rhett, he walked over to check anyway.

‘So?’, Rhett’s message popped on the screen.

“Is it him?”, Christy said sadly from behind. He nodded in a mix of embarrassment and guilt, as he pulled up the conversation with the man who owned the other half of his heart. _I don’t deserve him either…_ “Has he talked to Jessie yet?”

He sighed. “I don’t know. Do you mind if I…?”, he asked pointing at the phone.

“No”, she said, shaking her head resignedly. “Actually, tell him I’d like to talk to both of them. Jessie first though.”

“Sure.”

 

While Christy went into the bathroom, locking the door behind her, he sneaked out to their backyard to talk to Rhett. He was so anxious to know how it had gone with Jessie that he hadn’t even bothered to put on something on his feet so they were a bit cold against the tile floor.

‘Can I call you?’, Link texted him.

The reply took a minute or two to come. He figured Rhett was sneaking out somewhere too. No matter how understanding their wives might be, to call each other in front of them right now would be downright disrespectful. ‘Yep’, he finally got back, so Link didn’t waste a second. The phone rang only once before Rhett answered.

“Hey, man! You survived!”, he said teasingly, but Link could tell there was also a bit of fear in his voice.

Link huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, barely.”

“So you didn’t back out on me then?”

Link couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What?! Of course not! How can you-”

“Sorry, sorry”, Rhett interrupted quickly. “I guess I still can’t believe this, you know? All of it.”

Link sighed. “Yeah, I know what you mean. So you didn’t back out on me either, right?”

“Hell no”, Rhett snorted. “I already told you, I know I want this, so I’m all in, buddyroll.”

“Good.” It made him smile and he could feel himself relax a bit for the first time that night. “So how did it go with Jessie?”

“As bad as I expected, I guess… which isn’t very bad really. She was upset but she said she’s known since before we got married so she wasn’t really surprised.”

“Yeah, Christy said almost the same thing. I think her exact words were something like ‘I always knew there was something going on because I have eyes’”, he laughed. He could also hear Rhett laugh on the other side, and just the sound of it made him feel better.

“So it wasn’t too bad?”

“Oh no, it was awful, but it could have still gone a lot worse I think…”

Rhett huffed out a laugh. “That’s the spirit.”

“Actually, she asked me to tell you that she’d like to talk to you and Jess before she can give us a definite answer.”

Rhett seemed to consider it for a second. “Sounds fair. Did she say when?”

“Not really, but she did say she wanted to talk to Jess first.”

“I’ll tell her to talk to her tomorrow.” Rhett sighed deeply before speaking again. “So… there’s hope for us then?”

The excitement and hope in the other man’s voice made Link smile. _This is Rhett, jeez. I need to stop smiling like an idiot every time he says something cute._ He knew he had no way of fighting though. “I don’t know. I’d like to think so.”

“Me too.” He could practically hear the smile on Rhett’s face too, until his mind went somewhere else. “We’ll have to wait a bit though.”

“What’s a few days compared to thirty years, man?”, Link shrugged.

“That’s true.”

“Also I was thinking if- when, Christy and Jessie figure out the can and can’t do’s of this whole thing, maybe we should all get together. You know, just to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

“Yeah… besides, I think I’d be a bit scared to talk to Christy alone”, Rhett laughed.

“Oh you should be.”

“Do we know any bodyguards or something like that?”, Rhett joked.

“I don’t think so, but it’s not like that would stop her anyway.” They both chuckled. Link was glad that despite it all, and even in the middle of one of the hardest moments of their lives, they could still joke like that. They were still them after all. “What about Jessie? Should I be scared?”

“Uhm… not really. I’d say you’re fairly safe. Physically at least.”

Link laughed. “Good, good.”

After a few seconds of silence, Rhett sighed. “So, see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Uhm… you know, I think maybe we shouldn’t carpool until-”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” Rhett had a point. The less time they spent together, the better. For their wives, at least. He was sure Christy wouldn’t exactly be too excited about him going to work to spend hours and hours with Rhett alone anyway, at least until they figured things out.

“See you at work then.”

“Yep. G’night, Rhett”, he said sadly.

“Night, buddy.”

He didn’t really want to hang up since it had made him feel a lot better, but he had to. Before heading back inside, however, he stood there wondering about everything that had happened that day and how it could potentially change the course of the rest of his life. Even if he was feeling a bit guilty about having left Christy alone after that life-changing conversation, he found that he really did need to talk to Rhett. Not only had it cheered him up, but it also served as a reminder of what he was fighting for. He was taking his chances on the best man he’d ever known; the man that could make him feel safe and loved; the man that had always been there to make him laugh when he needed it the most. Rhett was worth it. Rhett was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, sorry this one took me almost a month to upload. I hope it was worth the wait.  
> Also, this story is reaching its end, even if it ended up being longer than I ever expected. The next chapter will take me a little while to upload too, but hopefully it won't take as long as this one :)


	10. Chapter 10

Walking into work the next morning was the most uncomfortable experience Rhett had had in a while. Everyone in the office knew that something had happened the day before between their bosses, so all eyes fell on him as soon as he walked through the door. Some were more subtle than other, but in any case, he figured he couldn’t really blame them for staring. They were probably looking for a sign on his face – a smile, a frown, anything that might give them a clue about what had gone down between them.

The truth was that if he and Link didn’t sort things out, the crew would eventually start to get worried about their potential job security as well. He really didn’t want them to worry – after all, to say that things with Link had gone better than expected would be an understatement – so he made sure to greet everyone with a smile. He tried his best to not make it look forced or awkward, despite the discomfort of being watched, but he knew his efforts had failed horribly when Stevie walked into his office right after him.

“What?”, he asked when he saw Stevie staring at him from the door with a suspicious look on her face. He shifted uncomfortably in his place when she didn’t answer. Instead, she just waited until Rhett met her eyes to come in and close the door behind her.

“So?”, she asked.

She must have known that would be all it would take to make Rhett crack. With one look at his eyes, anyone could have seen the bubbling anxiety inside, so she let Rhett spill it out. And he did.

He sat on the couch while Stevie grabbed Link’s desk chair, ready to listen. He took the phone out of his back pocket to check the time, but since he’d gotten there early that day, he figured they still had about fifteen minutes until Link showed up.

He looked up at Stevie and realizing he had her whole attention, he sighed and went off. Before he could even realize it himself, he had practically vomited out every detail; he told her everything about Link and the fights, and their wives, or at least he gave her the summarized version.

After he was done, she was silent for a minute, seemingly analyzing the consequences of the situation.

“You’re really doing this then?”, she asked in the end.

“Yep.”

She smiled at his simplicity. “Took you long enough.”

Rhett huffed out a laugh in a mix of relief and gratefulness. She was so supportive and understanding, and he couldn’t thank her enough.

“So you’re not scared?”, she asked genuinely curious.

“Oh no, I’m crapping my pants over here, but…” He stopped for a second, sighing contently. “He’s worth it.”

Stevie’s face transformed immediately. She was now looking at him half surprised, half smiling sweetly. “Awww!”

“Shut up”, he said rolling his eyes.

“That’s so sweet my teeth are hurting.”

“Okay, that’s enough.” He stood up swiftly, with Stevie mirroring his action. “You need to go now.”

“What?! Why?!”, she protested as Rhett was practically pushing her towards the door.

“’Cause he’ll be here any minute and –”

The sound of the door opening startled them both. Link was staring at them with his hand still on the handle and a confused look on his face. After a second, he seemed to decide to come in anyway.

“Morning there…”, he said. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“No, no… Stevie was just leaving, right?”

She nodded, smiling and looking back and forth between the two men. “Yeah, I should probably go. Stuff to do... teeth to pull out.”

With that, she headed for the door and disappeared down the hallway. Even so, Link definitely saw the smirk she had given Rhett as she said that last bit.

“Wha…” He looked at Rhett for a second, still confused, before something in his head clicked and his face changed. “You told her, didn’t you?”

Even though Link didn’t sound mad, Rhett still felt guilty. “Yeah, sorry”, he admitted. “I know I probably should’ve asked you first but-”

“She would have known eventually. It’s fine”, he shrugged closing the door. He walked past Rhett, grabbing his chair which Stevie had left in the middle of the room, and pushed it towards his desk. “Was she surprised?”

Rhett laughed softly, as he walked over to lean on Link’s desk. “Are you kidding? I might have as well told her the sky is blue.”

Link nodded. “Of course”, he said smiling.

“I did tell her to keep it between us, though. For now, at least.”

“It’s not like it’d come as much of a surprise to the crew either, man.”

“I know, but don’t you think we should wait until…?” Rhett had a feeling neither of them needed to hear the end of that sentence.

“No, yeah, you’re right”, Link said shaking his head. “Sorry. I’m getting a bit ahead of myself.”

Rhett shrugged with a smile, reaching for Link’s hand. “’S alright. It’s cute.”

“Stop that”, Link warned him, even if he didn’t let go of Rhett’s hand.

Rhett smiled, pulling Link closer. “Stop what?”

“That!” Now standing right in front of Rhett, Link let his head rest on the other man’s chest. “I promised Christy we’d wait… don’t make it more difficult. Please.”

Link was right. Their wives needed time to handle this, and given the situation, waiting – for however long - was the least they could do. “Okay”, he said at last. He kissed the top of Link’s head, before the shorter man pulled away. “Okay.”

Link looked at him thankfully and then took a couple of steps back to lean on Rhett’s desk. “So is Jess talking to Christy today?”

Rhett nodded. “Yeah, she sent the kids to school today so she could have the day off.”

“So did Christy. The kids weren’t too happy about it, but it’s better that way.”

“No need to worry about any little ears running around”, Rhett said matter-of-factly.

Link wondered about it for a minute. Neither of them spoke, each of them wrapped around their own thoughts. “What do you think they’d do if they found out?”, he asked breaking the silence.

“The kids? I don’t know, man”, Rhett sighed. “I’m not sure I’m ready to find out the answer anyway.”

“Yeah, me neither”, Link nodded looking at the floor, seemingly satisfied with Rhett’s answer.

“You scared?”

He met Rhett’s eyes, knowing already that there was no point in lying. “Very. You?”

“Terrified”, Rhett admitted. “But it’ll be alright.”

It made Link huff out a sad laugh. “Yeah, you keep saying that.”

“And I’ll say it as many times as you need to hear it.” 

Link smiled warmly, shaking his head. He appreciated the gesture, but he couldn’t understand how Rhett could sound so optimistic. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because I’m a know-it-all, remember?”, Rhett said with a smirk.

Link snorted. “You are. You, idiot.”

“I can’t be both, you know. Make up your mind, buddy.”

Link rolled his eyes, but he still couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. “You’re infuriating. That’s what you are.”

He crossed the space back towards his desk, moving his backpack from the chair to the floor next to it. He was about to sit, when he felt Rhett’s hand on his wrist.

_Trust me._

Link somehow seemed to get the wordless message, so he nodded. _I trust you._

As Rhett seemed to get it too, he smiled and removed his hand. He patted Link twice on the shoulder before heading for his own desk as well. “C’mon. Time to work.”

 

For the rest of the day they focused on work. Everybody on the crew seemed to be delighted that they were back to being their normal selves, even if that wasn’t entirely the case. Even though they didn’t discuss the fact that their future could have been getting decided at any moment, they were both very aware of it. They couldn’t get it out of their heads all day, constantly zoning out, thinking about what their wives might or might not be discussing.

By the end of the day, they were both being eaten away by intrigue and anxiety at the same time, causing them to rush to their cars. If the previous day going home had seemed dreadful, that day was the complete opposite; they couldn’t get there fast enough.

When Rhett got home and didn’t see Jessie in the living room, he wondered whether she had even come back yet. However, his doubt was immediately answered by some rustling coming from the kitchen.

“Hey!”, he said as he walked in.

“Hey”, Jessie replied dryly.

The awkward silence between them as he watched his wife accommodate some groceries she had just bought was almost deafening. He figured she had every right to act like this though, so if anyone was going to fill up the silence, it would have to be him. “How was your day?”

“Okay, I guess”, she said without even looking at him.

That was all he was getting. “So…did you end up talking to Christy?”

She huffed out a laugh, turning around to face him only after putting one last thing in the fridge. “Straight to the point, huh?”, she asked as she leaned on the counter.

“Sorry”, he said a bit embarrassed.

Jessie sighed and nodded, finally giving in. “Yeah, we went for a walk and then had lunch at her place.”

“And?”

“And what?”, she asked looking confused.

“What’s the verdict or whatever?”, he asked as if it was obvious.

She stared at him in silence for a few seconds. Rhett instantly knew he should brace himself when he saw her face transform into pure indignation as she huffed out an angry laugh.

“You think that’s why she needed to talk to me? To sort out YOUR relationship?” She laughed again, taking a couple steps towards Rhett. “Not everything’s about you and Link, you know! Have you thought about what WE are going through here?! Christy just needed a friend, Rhett! I needed my friend too!”

He didn’t know what to say; he could only gape at her.

“I know I said it didn’t really surprise me but… I still had a life plan for us, Rhett, so did Christy, and you two just tore it apart with this. Just, please, give us some time to… to come up with a new plan, I guess.”

The tears forming in her eyes made him fall apart. She was right, after all.

“I’m sorry. You’re right.” He nodded softly, looking at her straight in the eye to show her that he actually meant it. She seemed to notice it since he could see a clear change in her eyes the moment she let her guard down. He took it as a queue to slowly approach her and gently put his arms around her. It was only after a few seconds when he felt Jessie hug him back that he spoke again. “I’m sorry, baby, I’m so, so sorry. I love you.”

“I love you too”, she said softly against his chest.

He pulled back to look at her, wiping a tear from her cheek as he smiled at her with pleading eyes. “Forgive me, please?”

The answer never came though, as their conversation was suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone approaching. Jessie had barely any time to wipe her eyes in an attempt to erase any evidence before Shephard’s blonde little head appeared in sight.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw the scene before him, since wearing earbuds had made him completely oblivious to what was happening. He looked back and forth between his parents’ faces, trying to assess the situation. At least, they didn’t look like they were arguing, he thought, so he decided to walk in anyway.

“Mom?”, he asked taking off one earbud. “’S everything okay?”

She chuckled. “Yeah, honey. Everything’s fine.”

“Are you sure?”

She glanced at Rhett and nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure. Come here”, she said as she stretched her hand out towards her son. “Give mommy a hug.”

Rhett could see Shephard was still a bit suspicious but still hugged his mother nonetheless. He was actually quite proud of the way his son cared about her; they had raised him well. The boy smiled forcefully as he let go of Jessie, immediately turning towards the fridge to grab himself a bottle of water.

“No hug for your old man?”, Rhett said playfully as Shephard started to walk away.

The boy huffed out a laugh, turning to look at his dad. “Are you crying?”

“No…”

“Then no”, he said with a big grin.

Rhett pretended to be offended as Jessie and Shephard giggled. His face turned into a smile as well when he suddenly saw Barbara bolt into the kitchen, jumping at him.

“Look, Barbara wants to give me hug, don’t you? Yes you do!”, he said picking her up. “I’m starting to think we should have just gotten dogs, honey.”

Shephard just gave him a sarcastic smile and put his earbud back on as he walked away. Despite the playful atmosphere, hearing Jessie’s deep sigh from behind made him realize that their conversation wasn’t over.

“Well… It would have made this whole mess a lot easier.” He knew what she meant, even if he knew neither of them would trade their kids for anything. “They’re the biggest worry Christy and I have about this whole mess, you know. The kids. How much do we tell them? What if they can’t take it?”

“Then we don’t tell them.”

Jessie considered it, but almost instantly rejected the idea. “Don’t you think that’d be unfair though? Hiding something this big from them?”

She had a point. Hiding part of himself from his kids for the rest of their lives not only would be almost unrealistic, but also truly exhausting. He and Link may not have been ready to tell them at this stage, but Rhett doubted they’d want to hide it forever. “We can tell them when they’re older, when they can really… understand.”

“They understand what ‘gay’ means, Rhett. They’re kids, not stupid.”

He shook his head. “That’s not what worries me, even if that’s not the word I’d use for it.”

He didn’t really consider himself gay; he knew he would have to be at least bisexual, but he didn’t like men, he just liked Link. His friend had always been his one exception for everything, and apparently that included his sexuality too.

“What is it then?”

“I guess it’s the whole ‘mommy sharing dad with uncle Link’ thing. I’m scared they’d think I’m cheating or that I don’t think you’re enough… which you are, by the way. You’re more than enough. This is not what this is about. You know that, right?”

She rolled her eyes with a smile tugging on her lips. “I think I got the message the first few hundred times you said it yesterday. But yeah, I know.”

“So? Do you think we should wait until they’re older?”

She nodded. “Maybe, I mean… they’ll definitely be more mature to understand that people can be complicated, that when it comes to relationships, it’s not all black and white.”

“Do you think Christy would be okay with it?”

“I can’t know for sure, but I think so, yeah.”

He nodded staring into the air as he considered the possibility that Christy may not agree. It was probably Rhett’s worried frown that then made Jessie’s face turn soft and reach out for his hand. “I do think you’ll get your happy ending, honey. We just have to figure out the when and where’s, and who gets to know about all this. Chris is just overwhelmed, but I think she’ll come around.”

Her reassuring touch pulled all dark thoughts out from his mind. He still couldn’t wrap his head around the selflessness of the wonderful woman in front of him, let alone the fact that she had actually agreed to marry him.

He shook his head, smiling in disbelief. “How are you so cool about all this?”

She hesitated for a second before shrugging. “I wouldn’t exactly say I’m ‘cool’ about it but I’m willing to go along with it. It’s a challenge, sure, but I also know I can’t ask you to stay away from him; I can’t ask you to give up your company and pack up everything. I don’t have the heart to do it, and I also know there is no way you’d ever be happy without him. So as long as the boys don’t get hurt…” She sighed resignedly. “I’m okay with it.”

Rhett could only smile. “I don’t deserve you, do I?”, he asked almost in a whisper.

She smiled back, a lot more warmly this time. “Probably not, but you’re stuck with me anyway.”

 

* * *

 

The week went on with Rhett and Link exchanging whatever little intel they had on what their wives were discussing, and most importantly, on how Christy seemed to be feeling about it all. Even though Jessie was apprehensive about certain details, she had already agreed anyway, so it was the worry over Christy’s potential decisions what was keeping them up at night.

For Rhett, the fact that Link’s wife was waiting to talk to him in order to make her final decision was even more nerve-wracking. Sure, Link was probably also nervous about having to see Jessie after everything that had happened but his conversation with Christy could potentially change the ending of their story.

He was simultaneously not ready and impatient to get it over with. How he felt about it, however, became suddenly irrelevant when Jessie texted him as he and Link were about to leave the office on Friday afternoon.

‘Can you pick up Locke on your way home? He’s gonna be late for diving.’

Rhett sighed when he read the message. He was exhausted but it’s not like he could refuse. ‘Ok. Pick him up from where?’

The reply came almost instantly. ‘Link’s’

 _Oh_. The rush of adrenaline that went through his body made him forget how tired he had been just a minute ago. It was show time.

“Honey?”, Link said as he entered the house with Rhett right behind him.

As soon as they walked in, they could see Lincoln and Locke excitedly playing a videogame in the living room.

“Hi dad, hi Rhett!”, Lincoln said without looking away from the TV screen.

Locke took a quick glance towards them, but his attention was clearly focused on the game. “Hi dad, hi Link!”

Christy had gotten up from the where she was sitting in the dining room and walked towards them. “I hope you meant me”, she whispered to Link when they were close enough that the kids wouldn’t hear.

“Don’t”, Link said warily before he kissed her temple.

“I’m joking”, she laughed. She turned to Rhett and gave him a dry smile. “Hi there.”

“Hey.” Rhett was so nervous he could almost feel sweat dripping from his hands and the awkwardness of the situation made him feel like he needed to justify why he was there in the first place. “I’m just here to pick up Locke. He’s already late for diving practice.”

“Ugh, do I have to?”, Locke protested from behind.

“Yes, now. Move it.” Even though he wanted to sound firm, he was pretty sure it came out as desperate.

“Oh c’mon, dad! One more lap! I’m already late anyway.”

He turned to look at Link and Christy and then back at his son. He hesitated for a second, but eventually decided that he didn’t want to look like he couldn’t handle spending five minutes in the same room as Christy. “ONE lap”, he said with his finger up. Locke only hummed in response. “Hey! I said ONE, you hear me?”

“Yes, I know, I know… Hey! That’s cheating!”, he said making Lincoln giggle beside him.

Rhett rolled his eyes, but the answer seemed to satisfy him. “And you don’t tell your mother.”

“Got it”, Locke replied absentmindedly.

“Should we…?”, Christy said pointing towards the kitchen since they couldn’t talk properly in front of the kids. Rhett personally wouldn’t have minded to avoid any serious conversation but he nodded and followed her and Link anyway.

Christy leaned on the counter while Link went to grab his cereal box from the cupboard. “So, how was your day?”, she said at last.

“Good”, Rhett said quickly.

Link shrugged. “Same as always.”

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Link also leaned on the counter next to his wife. Christy immediately started sniffing, following her nose towards Link. “What is that smell?”, she asked as if she already knew she wasn’t going to get a normal answer.

“Chicken noodle soup”, both men said at the same time. “We had to take a bath in it”, Rhett explained.

“Why am I not surprised?” She chuckled. “How was that?”

“Not unpleasant actually.”

“It was like a really, really salty warm bath.”

“With carrots and celery floating around”, Link added.

Rhett laughed. “Right.”

Before an awkward silence could form again, Christy inhaled deeply, gathering herself up. They had beaten around the bush long enough.

“So…” She cleared her throat. “Link told me you were a bit afraid to talk to me alone.”

Rhett didn’t blush very often, but at that moment comparing his face to a tomato wouldn’t have been entirely unfair.

 _Thanks_ , he thought giving Link a death stare.

Link shrugged. _It’s true._

“Uhm…” Rhett laughed, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably. “Maybe a little, yeah.”

Christy smiled. “Well, don’t worry. I’m not gonna kill you.”

“Yet”, Rhett joked embarrassedly, making Link laugh.

Christy however, didn’t find it so funny. She only lifted an eyebrow as her face grew more serious. “As long as you don’t break his heart, I won’t.”

The comment hit both Rhett and Link like a ton of bricks, making them fall silent. Link was mostly caught off guard, while Rhett was almost offended that she thought him capable of such a thing.

“I… I would never.” It was a promise. He turned to look at Link, who had the softest smile on his face, and nodded towards the living room. “Hey, can you go tell Locke to get his things?” _It’s weird talking about you when you’re here._

Link nodded in response, understanding that Rhett and Christy needed to have a conversation where he had no place. “Sure.”

They waited until they were sure Link couldn’t hear them anymore. Once it was safe, Christy came closer to him with her arms crossed, and then spoke again.

“I need to know you’re serious about this. About him.”

“I am. One hundred percent.”

Christy searched his eyes for any little sign of doubt which she didn’t seem to find because, after a few seconds, she sighed in defeat. “You’d have to be discrete”, she warned him.

Rhett nodded. “Of course, we know that.”

“’Cause this not just your and Link’s happiness on the line here. The kids-”

“I know. They come before anything else, trust me.” Rhett realized it was getting harder and harder not to get his hopes up. “We wouldn’t have to tell them right now. We can wait until they’re older, there’s no rush.”

“Dad, c’mon!”, they heard Locke shout, making them both chuckle.

Christy started walking him to the door, where Locke was already waiting for him. Rhett patted Link on the shoulder as they walked past him in the living room, making sure to smile so that he wouldn’t worry.

When he saw them, Locke immediately opened the door and started heading for the car while his dad stopped at the door. Rhett knew his conversation with Christy wasn’t over.

“Go wait in the car, I’ll be right there!”, he yelled out to his son.

“Hurry!”

“I said I’ll be right there!”

Locke rolled his eyes grunting loudly, but still did what he was told.

“Bye, Rhett”, Lincoln said from inside as he headed for his room.

He smiled. “Bye, kiddo!”

When he turned his attention back to Christy, he found she was already staring at him. Eventually, she closed her eyes and sighed. “Okay.”

“Okay what?”

“Just… okay.”

It took Rhett a second to process the meaning behind her words. “You mean…?”

She nodded. “We still have to talk more about this later but… okay.”

He couldn’t seem to find his voice. Few times in his life had he been anywhere near this happy. He let out an incredulous laugh, and in a rush of excitement he lifted Christy off the ground in a tight hug. “Thank you”, he sighed at last.

She chuckled as Rhett put her back on the ground. Even so, she still tried her best to sound angry, although she didn’t quite manage it. “I’m still a bit mad, you know”, she warned him.

“Completely fair enough”, he said not being able to wipe the smile off his face.

“Dinner next Friday? The four of us?”

He nodded. “Deal.” As he looked inside, he found Link staring at them with a confused smile. “May I…?”, he asked Christy nodding towards him.

She looked around first just in case any of the kids were around, and nodded resignedly.

As much as Rhett wanted to cross the space between them and kiss Link senseless, he knew he couldn’t do that with Christy watching. Out of respect, at least. Instead, he jogged towards him, crashing him into a hug. Link laughed as held on to him tightly, trying not to fall. Just the feeling of Link against him was enough for Rhett to let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. He planted a kiss on Link’s temple, then pulling back to rest his forehead against Link’s.

“I told you so”, Rhett whispered.

“Wh-”

“I really gotta go”, he said, reluctantly having to let go of Link.

At that point, Rhett took a couple of steps back, winking at him before bolting out the door. It was only the bittersweet smile on Christy’s face, however, which confirmed in Link’s mind what he had only dared to hope for so far.

Just like that, Link was left dumbfounded in his living room with an unerasable smile on his face. He shook his head in both disbelief and amusement, thinking that for once, he really didn’t mind that Rhett had been right all along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10 was supposed to be the last one but I couldn't control myself, so you're getting one more. It's written already, but with college starting again tomorrow, I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to edit it and put it up.  
> I don't really want to make any promises because last time I failed to keep them, so just know that it could be anywhere between a few days and a month until the next one comes out.  
> I'm sorry and thank you for your patience! I hope you enjoyed :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so much to [sheisjustagirl](http://archiveofourown.org/users/shewasjustagirl/pseuds/shewasjustagirl) for beta reading the ending of my silly story. It would have probably taken me twice as long to finish it without your encouragement. You're the best of the best <3  
> 

They hadn't really talked during the weekend, aside from a couple of texts on Sunday to see who was picking up who. Things were sorted out and carpooling was back on the table, and it was Rhett's turn to pick up Link on Monday morning.  

One would think that now that Christy had agreed, now that every part of their lives seemed to have fallen into place, they would have no reason to be nervous anymore. But they were.  

Rhett kept tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove toward Link's house, and he wondered how things would be different now. Even after getting the green light from both of their wives, he wasn't quite sure what he and Link were. They were more than friends, for sure. More than best friends. So boyfriends? No, it sounded childish. Lovers? Ugh, he hated the word. Whatever they were defied any kind of definition, and maybe he liked it that way. It gave them the freedom to be and do whatever they wanted, to be themselves without the constraints of any labels. 

No labels, however, meant that they'd have to figure out everything as they went along, which could lead to a few awkward moments here and there.  

As he turned around the corner onto Link's street, he started panicking, causing his hands to get significantly sweatier. _What do I say? How do I say hello? Do I kiss him? No, it's too much. But I want to._ He shook his head, cursing himself as he pulled over. 

Clearly Link was already waiting for him, because he opened the front door the second Rhett's car came to a halt. 

_Just_ _say hello like you have every day for the past ten years, jeez._

So that’s what he did.  

For the first fifteen minutes of the ride, it was as if nothing had changed; they were Rhett and Link, the same childhood best friends they had always been. As the minutes went by, however, they started growing quieter and quieter until this awkward silence hung in the air. They both knew they had to address it eventually, but it wasn't until they got stuck sitting in traffic for five long and silent minutes that Link decided he'd had enough.  

The cars around them were not moving. Being alone in that car, just the two of them, was like being in a bubble where no one could touch them. Being together at home was practically impossible and, while they could choose to be alone at their office if they wanted to, a knock on the door would eventually come to drag them back into the real world. But not here, so they'd better make the most of it. 

Rhett saw Link move out of the corner of his eye before he felt the other man's fingers wrap around his. He looked down at their hands before turning to look at Link, who was practically staring holes into the passenger window embarrassedly. 

He could still see the blush on Link's face though, and it made him chuckle. It was so endearing that he couldn't believe how stupid he had been to panic over that goof, and he immediately adjusted his hand to lay it palm up beneath Link's and squeezed it tight.  

 

For the next couple of days, they thought they were being very smooth, stealing glances and quick touches around the studio. Even so, they would willingly admit one small slip up when Jen caught them standing a little too close to each other in the kitchen. 

“I could have fallen”, Link said that afternoon after everyone was gone. He was trying to come up with plausible scenarios that might justify what Jen had seen. 

Rhett huffed out a laugh. “Two inches away from my face?” 

Link knew Rhett was right. He also knew he should care more about this, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything but laugh about it. _So what_ _?_  he thought. _The crew have seen us do weirder things than that on camera anyway._

He chuckled defeatedly, scrunching up his shoulders. “Oops?” 

This earned him a full body laugh from Rhett, who then approached him shaking his head. The tall man towered over him and, placing his arms in each armrest of Link's chair, leaned down to give him the first kiss they'd gotten since that day at the office nearly two weeks before. 

“You’re impossible. You know that, right?” 

Link nodded, biting his lip, and tilted himself up to steal another quick one from Rhett. It pulled out a warm smile from the tall man, who, much to his disdain, knew they should get going. 

“C’mon, we gotta go”, he said, patting Link’s hand. 

 

It wasn't until Stevie showed up at their office on Thursday afternoon, however, that they realized that maybe they hadn't been so inconspicuous after all. 

“I’m happy for you guys, I’m freaking thrilled. But if you two really want to keep this under wraps, you have to work with me here. I can cover for you, but I can only cover so much”, she had said. 

Hearing it from her did sound the alarm in their minds, so they spent the rest of the day awfully quiet, keeping their distance. The silence on the ride back home was deafening, and Rhett couldn't take it anymore. He didn't want them to go back to the way it was, and he needed to make sure Link would never even consider the idea, so he confidently reached for Link’s hand. 

“We’ll find the balance. I promise.” 

It pulled Link out of his thoughts. The smile on Rhett's face and the certainty in his voice suddenly washed all his worries away. 

“I know”, he said, now smiling back. 

_We_ _were made for each other. We're gonna be okay_ _._

 

* * *

 

By the time Friday came along, their plans for an evening out with Christy and Jessie had had to be slightly modified. The adults-only dinner had turned into an all family event after their fruitless attempts at finding someone to look after the kids that night, although none of them really minded. 

They decided to do a ‘burger night’ at Link’s house. If they had followed along with their initial plan of going to a fancy restaurant, they would have had to get all dressed up, and that never sat well with the kids. This was easier. Even so, Link did end up changing the shirt he’d been wearing all day for a clean plaid one that he knew both Rhett and Christy liked on him. 

At around eight, he distinctively heard Rhett's car pulling up on the driveway, so he walked over to open the door. He knew his ears hadn't failed him, because he could already see the silhouette of Rhett's kids waiting right outside. 

“Hi guys!” 

“Hi Link!” Locke said, pushing past him. 

“Hi Link!” Shepherd repeated, following his brother as he held Barbara in his arms. 

The boys had gotten way ahead of their parents, Jessie walking slowly behind them holding a bag filled with what he assumed was some burger buns and snacks for the kids, while Rhett searched for something in the back seat of the car.  

“Easy there! Jesus…”, she called out. 

Link chuckled. “That’s okay.” 

He quickly quieted down, however, when he found himself alone standing in front of Jessie. He wasn't nervous, but he couldn't deny the way every muscle in his body had instinctively tensed up. He had been picturing – and dreading – this situation for the past two weeks, and maybe even longer than that, if he counted the times he had wondered about similar scenarios over the years.  

“Hi Jess.” 

“Hi”, she replied softly, forcing a smile. 

They stood there awkwardly until Rhett came running up to them carrying two seven-eleven bags with some bottles. He gave Link a sympathetic smile, clearly not oblivious to the situation he was in. Rhett had definitely had it worse when he had to face Christy, Link thought, whereas Jessie had been as supportive as one could possibly expect from someone in her shoes. He knew he shouldn't worry so much. _If Rhett could do it, so can I._

“Brought some beers”, Rhett said, trying to cut through the tension. 

Link nodded inside. “Put them in the fridge for later.” 

“Cool.” 

Rhett smiled at him once again, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly before walking past him into the house. As Link stepped outside, he closed the front door behind him without giving it too much thought, so he was relieved when he felt his keys in his pocket. Locking himself and Jessie out of the house wouldn't have been a great start. 

It was just the two of them alone now, and since the anxiousness was eating him alive, he figured he'd rather just get it over with. 

“Look, Jess, I-” 

She put up her hand to stop him. “You don’t have to explain, Link.” 

“No, that’s not-” 

“His relationship with you was partly what attracted me to him, Link. This is not new”, she continued, completely disregarding Link’s attempt to say something. “I just never thought it’d turn out like this, that’s all.” 

He sighed out a sad laugh. “Me neither, but that’s not what I wanted to say. Rhett already told me you’ve kinda known for a while”, he explained, pausing to meet her eyes. “What I actually wanted to say was ‘I’m sorry’.” 

She blinked, a bit startled. “What?” 

“We’ve known each other for over fifteen years, Jess. You’re not just my best friend’s wife. You’re my friend. Or at least I hope you still are.” He shrugged, and Link was grateful when the soft chuckle she let out at that point allowed him to relax. “My point is that I feel like I betrayed your trust too, and... I’m sorry.” 

Jessie could only stare at him, because she had expected Link to say something, but she hadn't expected this.  

It made sense, though. She would never expect him to apologize for whatever happened within her marriage; that was between her and her husband. And Link could never apologize for loving Rhett -- he simply wasn't sorry. Not one bit. Instead, he apologized for doing a disservice to the bond she and Link had created over the years; it was an apology he could give honestly and the one she needed to hear. 

Admittedly, Link’s words felt like lifting a weight off her shoulders, so she sighed, shivering slightly.  

“Thank you.” 

Link shook his head. “No, thank you.” He was smiling genuinely now, reaching over to wrap his arms around her. “You’ve made this a hundred times easier for us, you have no idea.” 

The front door then opened slightly and Rhett peeked out. The scene before him seemed to show things had gone well, which gave him the confidence to open the door all the way. 

“Sorry to interrupt, but uhm…” He cleared his throat. “Link, I can’t turn on your freaking grill, man.” 

Link laughed, letting go of Jessie. “Yeah, it’s not easy. I’ll do it.” 

Rhett felt Link graze his arm as he sneaked back into the house, pulling out a smile from him. Once he disappeared from their sight, Rhett offered his hand to Jessie, who didn't hesitate to grab it before they followed Link inside. 

“Everything okay?” he leaned down to whisper into her ear. She hummed, nodding in response, and it was the smile on her face that encouraged Rhett to joke a bit. “Do I have to share you with Link now?” 

She huffed out a laugh but shook her head. “We’re not there yet.” 

“Good,” Rhett laughed. He kissed her temple before letting go of her hand. As she started to walk away, however, what she had said started echoing in his head. “Wait… what do you mean ‘yet’?” 

She looked back at him over her shoulder with a grin on her face. “One step at a time, honey”, she said with a wink. 

 

 

Rhett had always thought the Neals had a beautiful garden. Despite not having pool, it more than made up for it by having a really big green space for the kids and dogs to run around. Christy kept it quite neat, and it was coincidentally that time of the year when the few bushes they had gave out beautiful little flowers. Even though one couldn't fully appreciate them at night, the bright warm lights on the outside wall of the house were enough to make the white petals stand out in the dark.  

The four panel glass door that led outside was placed between the kitchen and the dining room, so once you stepped outside you’d see that the patio stretched further to the left than to the right. At the far end towards the left, there was a medium-sized grill and a set of garden furniture made of rattan that Christy valued almost as much as any of her children. 

As Rhett stepped outside, he found Link leaning against a column near the grill. Knowing that that whole lounging area was far enough to escape the view from inside, Rhett came up behind him, splaying his fingers on the small of Link’s back.  

These little details had always been there though; he used to do them instinctively, not allowing himself to think much about them. These past weeks, however, he had been aware of every single one, and he let himself enjoy them unashamedly. 

“Could you do it?” 

“Yeah. It’s just heating up.” 

 “You okay?” he asked sweetly as he rubbed his thumb soothingly over Link's lower back. 

It took Link a second to answer, switching his balance to lean against Rhett. He finally sighed contently. “Yeah. Now, yes.” 

Rhett smiled at him. This mess had already stressed out Link enough, so he was glad his friend could finally catch a break. 

After a minute, Link begrudgingly slipped away from Rhett's touch and walked over towards the grill to check its temperature. Rhett figured it must have been heated up, because Link then reached for the plate of frozen burgers he had set apart on the table. He immediately walked over to try to help, but as soon as his hand came anywhere close to the burgers, Link smacked it right off.  

“Dirty hands”, he explained with a grin.  

Rhett rolled his eyes, smiling. It was no news that Link had an eye for germs. Instead, he slipped up behind the shorter man, hugging his waist as he watched Link place every patty on the grill.  

“Beer then. We deserve one.” 

“Do you think they’ll be cold enough by now?” 

“Maybe.” Rhett shrugged. “They were already a bit cold when I bought them. I’ll go check.” 

He let go of Link, freezing the instant he turned around. Christy was standing near the door that led to the living room with a beer in each hand.  

“Got you covered.” She stepped forward to leave the drinks on the table with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. The sound of Christy’s voice made Link flip his head back as well. He looked back between Rhett and his wife and he knew he should be the one to apologize.  

“Sorry, we-” 

“No, it’s - ” Christy interrupted quickly. “It’s fine. I agreed, remember?” 

“Still”, Rhett said sheepishly. 

It took her a few seconds to reply, having an internal battle with herself on whether to accept their apology or shrug it off. Eventually, she seemed to have decided on the latter.  

“What’s the point in asking you to hide it? You already have to hide from enough people.” She gave them a sympathetic smile. “Although...” 

She seemed hesitant to go on, so Link tried to encourage her. “What is it? We can take it.” 

She looked at them side by side and breathed out resignedly, knowing she'd have to bring it up eventually.  

“I know you guys are still testing the waters with this but… if you do decide to take it further,” she cleared her throat, “I’m just not sure I want to know all the details. If you know what I mean.” 

Rhett nodded before turning to look at Link, who had suddenly turned bright red.  

The top of Link's ears were scolding hot and he was silently praying that his face wasn't as red as it felt. He quickly realized his praying had been of no use, because as he glanced over at Rhett, the tall man was already staring back with pursed lips, unequivocally holding in a laugh.   

“Based on that face, I wouldn't worry if I were you”, Rhett answered, nodding towards him. 

Link shoved Rhett’s arm, which he seemed to find even more hilarious. Even Christy was giggling, but at least she was trying to cover it with her hand. 

“So that’s settled then”, she said, seemingly satisfied, once it had all died down. 

“What is?” Jessie’s voice came from the door, startling everyone. 

She also had a bottle of beer in each hand, one for her and one for Christy. 

“A couple of details of… our little arrangement.” 

“Oh you mean the sex detail?” Jess said casually, taking a sip from her bottle. 

“Jess!” Christy cried out. 

“What?! We’re all grown ups here!” 

“Shh! The kids are in there!” Link warned them, trying to keep his voice as low as possible. 

“He’s right”, Rhett said smugly, even though he knew the kids were actually too busy arguing about what movie they were going to watch later. 

They all laughed, causing Link to sigh, half content and half relieved. The possibility of seeing that picture of the four them laughing together again seemed distant for a while, if not impossible. He reached over to the table where his wife had left their beers and grabbed his own, with Rhett immediately following his action. 

“To us”, he toasted with a sincere smile. 

Christy smiled, also lifting up her bottle. “May this weird thing of ours work out.” 

“To being weird then”, Link joined in. 

“To being weird!” they all repeated, laughing as they clinked their bottles together.  

After taking a sip, Christy seemed to remember something, turning to look at Rhett. “I meant to ask you”, she hurried to say, “have you thought about how you might get... you know?” 

“Get what?” Rhett asked startled.  

Christy pointed at her lips, moving her finger in circles around them, as if she were being obvious. Rhett shook his head, confused, until it suddenly hit him. He looked at Link with wide eyes and then covered them with his free hand. 

“Jesus! I hadn’t thought about that!” 

Link laughed, enjoying this a little bit too much. “Ha! You’re not gonna laugh so much now, will you?” 

Jess seemed lost, looking at the three faces in front of her trying to find a clue as to what was going on. It was only when Christy mouthed the words ‘mouth herpes’ at her that all the pieces in Jessie’s mind came together.  

“Now that’s just freaking great.” 

“Sorry, love”, Christy laughed, patting her arm comfortingly. 

 

 

A few minutes after Jess and Christy headed back inside, Link glanced over to check on the burgers on the grill. He figured they’d be ready in about a minute at most.  

“Hey, these are almost done if you wanna tell the kids to go sit at the table.” 

Rhett did as he was told, although he was still mumbling frustratedly to himself when he came back out. 

“Man…I can’t believe I’m gonna get mouth herpes!” 

“Well I’m worth it. Now stop whining and hold the plate!” 

Rhett grabbed the plate from the table and did as he was told. As Link filled up the plate carefully, one burger at a time, Rhett focused his attention on the man next to him instead. He chuckled at his own cheesy thought, but he had to admit Link was right. _He is worth it._

“I’m gonna put on another round, so I’ll stay to keep an eye on them”, Link stated once the plate was full. 

Rhett nodded in response, setting his beer back on the table. “I’ll bring our plates and some buns. We can eat out here while we wait.” 

Link let out a soft laugh, taking another sip of beer while Rhett rushed inside. 

It never ceased to amaze him to realize neither of them really grasped the concept of ‘I’ and ‘me’; it was always ‘us’ and ‘we’ when it came to them. Even though some people wrote that off as serious codependence issues – which wouldn't be too far off if he was honest with himself – he still considered himself lucky because of it.  

Less than a minute later he saw Rhett come out of the door, balancing two plates and a couple bottles of condiments. One plate had four or five frozen patties, while the other one had two open buns on them; Link’s with lettuce and some onions, and Rhett’s with a couple slices of tomato added on top of that.  

As Link placed the new batch of burgers on the grill, Rhett sat down on the garden sofa to prepare the ones they were going to eat. He didn't need to ask the other man what he wanted on it; Link was a creature of habit, so after thirty years of friendship, Rhett knew him by heart. The only problem was, as he soon discovered, he'd left all the cooked patties inside.  

 _Crap_ , he thought, as the grumbling in his stomach added force to his complaint. Jessie had locked the door from the inside, graciously giving them some privacy, but it now meant he’d have to wait for the other burgers to cook.  

At least Link didn't seem to mind. He sat beside Rhett on the sofa, laughing at his little misfortune like it didn't affect him too. 

He suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket, distracting him from the fact that he was starving. When he pulled it out, the text that popped up on the lock screen made him chuckle. 

“Nick texted me.” 

“Huh?” 

“He says he wants to talk to me. Should I call him?” 

Link took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he considered his answer. “I don’t know. It’s up to you, man, I mean… if you’re not still upset about –” 

“I like Nick, Link. I just… I didn’t like that he got to spend more time with you than me, that’s all. We’d been fighting for a while anyway, he was just the last drop I guess.” 

Link nodded, soaking in Rhett's answer. He hesitated for a second, gathering up the courage to bring up something that’d been bothering him.  

“So about that…” He cleared his throat. “Have you thought about what would happen if we start fighting again? ‘Cause the promotion for Buddy System will start in no time.” 

Rhett scoffed. “You’re talking as if the show itself was to blame for everything.” 

“You don’t think it was part of it?” 

He considered it for a second. “I mean, sure, it didn’t exactly help, but we’ve fought over songs and sketches before and it was never anything like that.” 

Link stared at the floor while memories of the past few months started flashing through his mind. “It really sucked this time, didn't it?” 

“You bet it did. It was driving me crazy to tiptoe around you all the time.” 

“Tiptoe?” Link laughed. “You were straight up avoiding me!” 

“So were you!” 

Link huffed out a laugh but he couldn't really deny it. _Fair enough_ , he thought. “The closer we got, the more we tried to push each other away. It’s always been like that, man.” 

Rhett shrugged. “We were scared.” 

“Of getting closer.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Doesn’t that sound like the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard?” 

Rhett laughed and nodded. “Thank god we got over that”, he said as he reached over to grab Link’s hand, earning him a smile from the other man. 

“Maybe we did get wiser after all.” 

They sat there holding hands for a minute or two, simply enjoying each other's company. It was nice. They knew they wouldn't get to do this very often, let alone outside. If they had not been aware of it before they jumped into this new stage of their relationship, then the past week would have been enough for them to figure it out anyway. 

Rhett sighed, squeezing Link’s hand in his. 

“What do you think he wants?” he said at last, trying to think about something else. “Nick, I mean.” 

Link shrugged. “Call him and let’s find out.” 

 _Why_ _not?_  

He let go of Link's hand to pull up Nick’s number from his contact list, and dialled it up. Link stood up swiftly to turn the burgers over while they let the phone ring, but it wasn't long until Nick’s voice came from the other side. 

“Hey Rhett!” 

“Hey, man! You’re on speaker.” 

“Hi Nick!” Link chimed in. 

“Link?” His question didn’t sound like he didn’t recognize Link’s voice, but as if he was surprised to hear he was there. 

“What’s up?” 

“Oh not much… what are you guys up to?” 

“Just having a burger night with the family, you?”  

 _'Family’_ _. N_ _ot_ _two, but one_ _,_ Link thought as he sat down next to Rhett again. It made him smile. 

“I’m actually in the car going to pick up some pizzas.” 

“Then you shouldn’t be talking and driving”, Link teased him. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m almost there anyway, mom”, Nick protested. “So… you guys are okay?” 

Rhett frowned, and since he wasn’t sure about how much Link had told Nick about what was happening between them, he decided to go for a cautious answer. “Yeah, why?” 

“What do you mean why?” He scoffed. “C’mon man, last time I saw Link he looked like a kicked puppy!” 

“Hey!” Link complained while Rhett threw his head back laughing. 

“And that’s putting it mildly”, Nick continued. 

Link joined him laughing, although Rhett could see he was embarrassed. _At least now we can laugh about it…_  He sighed. “Yeah, things are better now. We sorted things out, so... we’re okay.” 

“Good, I’m glad.” 

Rhett looked at Link and found him already looking back smiling. “We’re more than okay”, Link sighed, causing Rhett to smile wider. 

“Oookay, lovebirds”, Nick laughed awkwardly after a second, clearly noticing something. “Not that I don’t want to hear about all the make up sex you must be having, but I gotta go. Let’s hang out next week though, ‘cause Rhett, I haven’t seen you in ages, brother.” 

“Yeah, I know. My bad, man, sorry.” 

“Don’t worry about it.” They could hear Nick turning off the engine and opening the door, so they assumed he must have reached the pizza place. “Okay, I really gotta go. See you guys.” 

“Bye, Nick!” 

“Bye,” Rhett said just before Nick hung up.  

Link patted him on the knee, and stood up to turn off the grill. “C’mon, let’s go inside.” 

Rhett looked up at him with pleading eyes, only having moved to put away his phone. _Do_ _we have to?_ _,_ he thought. 

Link chuckled and smiled warmly, reading his thoughts. “Yes, we do. C’mon”, he said extending his hand to help Rhett up. The other man took it, wearing a smirk on his face, but instead of pushing himself up, he pulled Link closer to him.  

“I barely got, what? Ten minutes with you this week?” 

He could tell Rhett had purposefully lowered his voice, making it smooth and inviting; that man knew exactly what he was doing, and so did Link.  

“You spent all week with me”, he chuckled, following as Rhett guided him even closer. With the feeling of Rhett’s thumb tracing circles on the back of his hand, he couldn't resist anyway– nor did he want to. 

Rhett grinned, staring up at Link’s lips. “Not alone, I didn't.” 

“That's a shame”, he smirked as he leaned down. 

“M-hmm.” With their lips now merely inches apart, Rhett tilted himself up to close the space between them, giving Link a quick peck before immediately leaning back in for more. 

Link felt Rhett let go of his hand to place it on his hip. The moment Rhett’s fingers made contact with the exposed skin there sent a bolt of electricity through his body, causing him to slide his hand to the back of Rhett’s neck to deepen the kiss. Now that Rhett was kissing him sweetly and slowly, he couldn't help but want more.  

As they kept pulling each other closer, they reached a point where Rhett’s legs were only in the way. Being so wrapped up in the feeling of Rhett’s lips moving against his, however, Link didn’t waste a second before he lifted his leg over Rhett’s and sat on his lap.  

Rhett hummed in surprise, smiling against Link’s mouth. His giddiness, suddenly through the roof, made him hold onto both of Link’s hips, pulling them closer against his. The shorter man inhaled sharply, rolling his hips instinctively at the contact against his crotch.  

“Oh gosh…” Rhett moaned, trying to keep his voice down. 

Link laughed, quite pleased with himself now that he knew he could get that reaction out of Rhett. Still, he knew this wasn’t the place or the time to push this forward. “Raincheck?” 

“Oh you bet”, Rhett practically growled, still in a bit of a daze, leaning in to press one last kiss to Link’s lips. 

After thirty years of wanting to be in this situation, it took every bit of Rhett’s willpower to let go of Link’s hips to let him get off. Once he did and Link stepped back, the tall man stretched his back, then groaned as he slowly stood up.  

“You can do it, old man”, Link teased him. 

“You’ll understand when you’re my age.” 

Link snorted. “You’re the same age as me, dumbass.” 

“I’m eight months older. Those months make all the difference, man.” 

“Sure they do”, Link said, rolling his eyes. 

They grabbed everything and knocked on the glass door to head back inside.  

 

Both couples ended up talking long after they were done with their meals. Meanwhile, the kids were already halfway into their second movie, not because they had finished the first one but because the adults didn't deem it appropriate and switched it for something more ‘suitable for all ages’.  

When the women ended up having their own convo in the kitchen, Rhett and Link snuck back outside. This time, however, since the night was clear and the air just cool enough, they decided to move two of the armchairs from the set in the patio onto the grass in order to be beneath the open sky. 

It didn't take long for their conversation to take some crazy turns, throwing back and forth ridiculous ideas about possible guests for their upcoming season of Ear Biscuits. It was still far off, still having the promotion for Buddy System as well as their book ahead of them, but when had that ever stopped them from looking toward the future? 

“Lionel would never come on GMM, man! Let alone Ear Biscuits…” 

“I say give him another ten, fifteen years until money starts running low and he has to start performing for spare change.” 

Link laughed despite himself. “Don't say that about Lionel! What's wrong with you?” 

“I'm just saying, man!” Rhett cracked up. “It can happen to the best of us. We’d be helping him out.” 

Link shook his head in amusement. “Ear Biscuits episode 429 with Lionel Richie.” 

“It's gonna be a good one, I tell you.” 

It was no surprise to Jessie to find the two men giggling like children when she walked over to interrupt their silly exchange. 

“Sorry, honey, can I borrow you for a minute? We need you to reach something.” 

“As long as you bring him back”, Link said with a smirk.  

Rhett snorted a laugh as he stood up, while Jessie stood gaping at him faking offense, but Link could see right through it. Even though she was trying her best to hold back a smile, she lifted a finger warningly towards him.  

“You know, that ring on his finger says he’s still mine, Neal. Careful.” 

Link shrugged and a bit insolently said, “Only because I share.” 

Rhett bent back laughing and even Jessie huffed out a laugh. They knew Link didn’t mean any harm. His sense of humor could be weird like that, even if what he had said held a bit of truth to it.  

Jessie shook her head in disbelief. “I created a monster.” 

“A tipsy monster.” He nodded to the bottle in Link’s hand. “I think that’s enough beer for one night, buddy. I’ll be right back.” 

Link sighed as Rhett and Jessie walked away. He then figured Rhett was probably right about having had enough alcohol for one night, so he placed his mostly empty bottle on the grass beside him.  

He couldn’t deny things were much better than they had been a month before, but that didn't erase the fact that they still had the problem of privacy. To be fair, they could maybe stay at the office an extra hour or two every week, if they could come up with the right excuses, but even so, he honestly couldn't remember the last time they did something together, just the two of them. 

He dwelled upon the early stages of their partnership when they had no producer, no crew, and it would be just the two of them on the road. Since money used to be a lot tighter, they'd always have to share a room, not to mention the countless missed opportunities when they had to share a bed. What wouldn't he give for that freedom now... 

“There’s something on your mind”, Rhett smiled fondly, walking over to take his place next to Link again. He sighed. “Spit it out.” 

“We should take a trip. Just you and me.” 

Rhett hummed, pleased with the idea. “Yeah, I’d like that.” After considering it for a minute, nonetheless, he figured their wives wouldn’t be too happy about it. “I doubt it’s gonna sit well with them, though.” 

Link frowned, confused. “We travel together all the time.” 

“That's different. That's work, so they can't refuse. And Stevie always comes along anyway.” 

“We’ve gone camping before”, he tried. 

“Yeah, with the kids. And besides, camping wouldn’t be just camping anymore, would it?” It finally dawned on Link what Rhett meant, and he had to concede him the point. “They know that too. It’s just asking too much, too soon”, Rhett explained. 

Link sighed, searching in his mind for a way they could make this ideal trip happen. When he couldn’t think of any, he figured they could just settle for their second best option instead. “Vacations with the families, then. It’s been a while since we had one of those.” 

Rhett nodded, considering the idea. “Where do you want to go?” 

“I don’t know… somewhere relaxing. The beach maybe.” 

“Hawaii?” Rhett suggested, lifting an eyebrow. 

Link huffed out a laugh. “I’m being serious, man.” 

“Me too! Let’s go to Hawaii.” He laughed, but waited until Link believed he was serious to continue developing the plan. “We could take a week or so after we’re done with the whole promotion thing.” 

“You think they’ll be up for it?” 

“Are you kidding? Who doesn’t want to go Hawaii? Of course they’ll be up for it! That way we could even… I don't know, maybe get one night for us. Just us.” 

“We’re back to the camping problem again, Rhett.” 

“I know, I know, but at least that way we’ve got something to bargain with. We get our ‘camping night’, they get Hawaii.” 

“A night you and me alone in Hawaii…” A thousand pictures went through Link’s mind, making him sigh contentedly. “I know what I’ll be looking forward to for the rest of the year.” 

Rhett smiled, making a promise to himself that he’d try to get them a whole day. He’d take Link out to lunch and then maybe take a walk to a place where they could be away from everything and everyone else. He’d always wanted to go to one of those waterfalls in the middle of the jungle, and he was sure Hawaii had to have plenty, so maybe they could do that. They could have their own little adventure. 

He didn’t want to go camping though. If he and Link were going to have one night and one night only, he didn’t want to spend it on the cold, hard ground.  He’d get them a proper hotel room. Maybe even a suite.  

As he came out of his thoughts, he found Link smiling at him as if he had followed his entire train of thought. In fact, he knew Link had done just that.  

How their minds worked was still beyond them; they could have entire conversations without speaking a single word, feeling as if they could slip into each other's minds without really trying. Rhett didn't mind now, since he had nothing to hide from Link. Not anymore. 

“I guess we’ll see how far our comfortable place really goes, huh?” 

They both laughed and Link nodded without being able to wipe the smile off his face. He felt time suddenly wasn’t passing fast enough. 

 _I_ _can’t wait._  

_Me neither._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I guess this is it. Thank you to everyone who went on this ride with me. This was my very first multi-chapter so you really have no idea how much your kudos and comments meant to me. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! If you tell me what you thought of it, I will love you forever <3

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback always welcome! Find me as [Mythicalseries](http://mythicalseries.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr


End file.
